Death of spouse in 2023 and remarriage

[Jamesduea11224]

My spouse died in early 2023.  I remarried in late 2023.

According to IRS Publication 4491:

“Surviving spouses who have remarried must file with the new spouse, either jointly or separately, and the decease spouse’s filing status becomes Married Filing Separately.”

My former spouse died on January 1, 2023, and her tax return was filed electronically as specified in Pub 4491.

When I attempted to file my Married Filing Joint return electronically it was rejected by the IRS because my SSN is on my deceased wife’s tax return as spouse.

Turbo Tax is incorrectly saying I cannot file a Joint Return if my SSN is on another return.

Is the only solution to file paper returns with an explanation??

Jim

[rjs · Accepted solution]

It's not TurboTax that is preventing you from e-filing your tax return. It's the IRS. The IRS has some problems handling deceased taxpayers. The only solution for this year is to file your joint return on paper. No explanation is needed. The IRS will figure it out.

[Bsch4477]

You filled correctly. Mail your return with the explanation.