Death of a spouse

[Warbirdluvr]

My client's wife died in 2023, but the information regarding her death was not received by Soc Sec or IRS until 2024.  Now when I try to file my client's return, the Federal Information Worksheet will not accept that she died in 2023, and subsequently will not e-file the return.  What to do?

[pk]

@Warbirdluvr , if you are really trying to prepare  a "client"'s  return you are using the wrong product.  The EULA  allows use of the product ONLY for personal use.  Perhaps  you should use Lacerte or Pro-series , both from Intuit.    

[VolvoGirl]

Besides the fact you shouldn't be using Turbo Tax for "clients"  he should be filing 2024 as Single unless he has a child and qualifies as a qualifying widower.  So the deceased wife doesn't go on the return at all.  Why are you trying to enter her into 2024?  

You can file a Joint return as normal the year your spouse died. For the next two years following a husband's or wife's death, the surviving spouse can file as a qualifying widow or widower if they have a qualifying child. That basically lets you continue to use the same tax brackets that apply to married-filing-jointly returns. After the year of death if you don't have a child you file as Single.