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Get your taxes done using TurboTax
The joint return you just filed is his final tax return. I am sorry for your loss.
The filing of the deceased taxpayer's final return usually falls to the executor or administrator of the estate, but if neither is named, then the task needs to be taken over by a survivor of the deceased. The final return is filed on the same form that would have been used if the taxpayer were still alive, but "deceased" is written after the taxpayer's name. TurboTax did this if you indicated that he passed away in the personal info section.
Since you were married when he passed, you may file a joint return for the year of death (2021), claiming the full standard deduction, and using joint-return rates. The executor usually files a joint return, but the surviving spouse can file it if no executor or administrator has been appointed. (For the two years following a spouse's death, the surviving spouse can file as a qualifying widow or widower. That basically lets you continue to use the same tax brackets that apply to married-filing-jointly returns.)
If an executor or administrator is involved, he or she must sign the return for the decedent. When a joint return is filed, the spouse must also sign. When there is no executor or administrator, whoever is responsible for filing the return should sign the return and note that he or she is signing "on behalf of the decedent." If a joint return is filed by the surviving spouse alone, he or she should sign the return and write "filing as surviving spouse" in the space for the other spouse's signature. If you e-filed, you would have electronically done this in the File section.
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