The employer should not have issued W-2s. The IRS instructions for Form W-2, under "Deceased employee's wages," says the following. (These are instructions to the employer.)
"If you made the payment after the year of death, do not report it on Form W-2, and do not withhold social security and Medicare taxes.
"Whether the payment is made in the year of death or after the year of death, you must also report it in box 3 of Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information, for the payment to the estate or beneficiary. Use the name and taxpayer identification number (TIN) of the payment recipient on Form 1099-MISC."
I'm not sure what you should do about this. It not's worth a lot of effort for such a small amount of money. Maybe the best approach is to report the income as other income on your own tax return, as DaveF1006 suggested. But in the description, which has to be short, I would say "W-2s issued to deceased wife after year of death." That would make it clear that the employer reported it incorrectly. In the unlikely event that you get an IRS notice about unreported income, you could point out the employer's error and show that you reported the income on your tax return.
I would give up on getting credit for the tax that was withheld, and not enter it on your tax return. Claiming tax withheld that was not reported to the IRS with your Social Security number is almost guaranteed to generate an IRS notice and delay processing of your tax return. Again, it's not worth the trouble for such a small amount of money.
