filing electronically - married filing jointly - deceased spouse

[joehoch]

Husband died in 2022 (TurboTax knows this).  Spouse is surviving.  Attempting to e-file "Married Filing Jointly".  (Apparently husband is Primary in TurboTax).  E-file was rejected because Social Security Administration locked husband's SSN.  

So how do I e-file successfully?  Please don't tell me to file by mail.  It takes the IRS a year or more to process mailed in taxes.

[CatinaT1]

Unfortunately, since the IRS has his SSN locked, your only option is to file by mail.  There is no way to e-file with his SSN on the return.

They do this to avoid fraud, but I understand the frustration it causes. Sorry for your loss.

[joehoch]

Thank you Catina for the fast response and kind words.

[fanfare]

The IRS backlog for paper tax returns is way down from 18 months ago.

@joehoch