You are considered married for the entire year, even if your spouse passes away during the current tax year. You may file using the Married Filing Joint status if you would have otherwise qualified for that status.
Select Married Filing Joint as your filing status if you qualify for this status. You must indicate that your spouse is now deceased, within the program. To enter this within the program follow the steps below:
- Basic Information
- Personal Information
- Additional Personal Information - select deceased for the appropriate spouse and enter the date of death
If you remarried before the end of the current tax year, you would file Married Filing Joint with your new spouse. Your deceased spouse's tax return would be filed as Married Filing Separate.
See Publication 17 for more information about filing for a deceased spouse.