My dad died in 2019. I'm trying to file a joint return with my mom but it is requiring a 2020 death date. Why is it doing that. Can't it be joint 2 years after death?

[dodger2222]

Is it because I'm carrying over the return from the prior year?

[xmasbaby0]

If your dad died in 2019 your mother could file a joint return for 2019.   If she still has qualified child dependents for 2020 then she can file as a qualifying widow and get the same standard deduction as a a joint return, but she cannot file a joint return the year after your dad died.   If she does not have a qualified child dependent for 2020 then she files Single for 2020.

What exactly do you mean by "carrying over the return from the prior year?"   Tax years cannot be combined.  Do not try to put 2019 information on a 2020 tax return.

[dodger2222 · Accepted solution]

Ahh- extremely helpful.  Thank you (for some reason I thought qualifying widow carried over)

[dodger2222]

Can I come back for one more follow up?  Is there any tax bearing whether an IRA was inherited from a tax reporting perspective?  Turbo Tax asks if it was inherited but I'm not sure why.  I consolidated my parents IRAs into the surviving spouse

[JohnB5677]

No, if your dad died in 2019 you cannot file a joint tax return for your Mom.

Regardless of if the spouse dies on January 1 or December 31, the survivor can file as Married Filing Jointly.

In the subsequent two years after the death of the spouse, the survivor, if still unmarried, can file as a Qualifying Widow.

[JohnB5677]

You are correct.  Your father's IRA transferred to your mother as a transfer to a surviving spouse.

If you were to receive the same IRA it would be inherited.

A surviving spouse can use the IRA as if she was the original owner.