There's another way to fix the e-filing problem when filing a joint return with a deceased spouse. My husband passed away on March 2019 so I prepared our tax return as MFJ with his name as the primary taxpayer. However, when I tried to e-file it was rejected 3 times. Turbotax insisted that it was rejected because of an incorrect AGI but I knew it was correct and it couldn't be the issue. Since I had already paid the state e-filing fee, I decided to try one more thing. I remembered that in order to verify my identity online when paying estimated taxes, the IRS rejected my husband's SS#. So I tried mine and the verification process went through without a hitch. Based on this knowledge, I decided to transpose the names on the return. I put my name as the primary taxpayer and his as the secondary taxpayer. Then, I crossed my fingers and e-filed one last time. Lo and behold, it was accepted! Apparently, the IRS has the deceased SS# flagged as invalid and rejects anything with such a number in it. Turbo Tax needs to alert customers of this possibility when a joint return with a deceased spouse is rejected. Hope this info helps someone out there in the same boat.
