Qualifying Surviving Spouse

[mlbrown]

I’m working early on my taxes to just get a rough estimate where I stand for the 2023 tax year.

Used Turbo tax last year and worked out very well. This year it has gotten a little more complicated. I’m trying to see if I’m a Qualifying Surviving spouse. I lost my spouse in March 2022 and I was able to do Married filing jointly for 2022 Tax Year.

I have a daughter and two grand-children that is living in my house for all of 2023 and no doubt furnishing well over half of their living expenses. I used Turbo Tax to answer the questions for Qualifying Surviving spouse.

Turbo-Tax says I can’t claim her as a dependent as she makes more than $4700/year and also it will mess-up my daughter’s tax refund.

But it says I may qualify for other deductions. If I answer yes to below conditions then I am a Qualifying Surviving Spouse. The first two conditions are no doubt true.  But the 3rd I’m puzzled what it is asking. I could have filed as Joint the year my spouse passed and the answer is Yes I did file as joint.

So I answer this question as YES?

I’m under the assumption that I must have a dependent to be a Qualifying Surviving Spouse

Is this a bug in the software?

Thanks for your input.

[Critter-3]

You are a Qualifying Surviving Spouse (formally called qualifying widower) if you could or did file a joint return in the year of death and you have a qualifying dependent  in the 2 tax years following death.  After those 2 tax years you may be Head of Household as long as you still have a qualifying dependent. 

If she is going to claim her own children then you will not have any qualifying dependents so stop and remove anyone you may have listed as the parent always has the superior right to claim their children even if you provide more than 1/2 of their support.  

It all depends upon the facts and circumstances.  A dependent must meet the requirements of a qualifying child or a qualifying relative in order for you to claim them on your tax return.

The tests for a qualifying child are:

• Relationship: Must be your child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (grand or nephew).
• Residence: Must have the same residence for more than half the year.
• Age: Must be under age 19 or under 24 and a full-time student for at least 5 months. They can be any age if they are totally and permanently disabled.
• Support: The dependent must not have provided more than half of their own support during the year.
• Joint Support: The child cannot file a joint return for the year.

The tests for a qualifying relative are:

• Qualifying Child: They are not the “qualifying child” of another taxpayer or your “qualifying child.”
• Gross Income: The dependent being claimed earns less than $4,400 in 2022.
• Total Support: You provide more than half of the total support for the year.
• Member of Household or Relationship: The person (a friend, girlfriend, non-blood relative) must live with you all year as a member of your household or be related to you.

TurboTax software will ask you simple questions and give you the tax deductions and credits for which you are eligible based upon your answers.

See also these TurboTax Helps.

Who Can I Claim as a Tax Dependent?

Can I claim my relative or friend as my dependent?

You may also want to view IRS Publication 501.

Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information

[rjs]

It's not a bug. You can file as Qualifying Surviving Spouse if you have a child (not a grandchild) whom you could claim as a dependent except for the fact that her income was $4,700 or more. Since your daughter's income is the only thing that prevents you from claiming her as a dependent, she does qualify you to file as Qualifying Surviving Spouse even though she is not your dependent.

On your Form 1040 your daughter's name will be entered on the line below your filing status where it says "enter the child's name if the qualifying person is a child but not your dependent."

[mlbrown]

From what your are saying, then she will not be a dependent because she makes more than $4700 but she will be a qualifying child that makes me a Qualifying surviving spouse? 

As posted by Critter3 next to your post my qualifying child must meet the age requirement less than 19.

She is 47 years old. Does that stop it as qualifying child?

I'm still so confused.

[rjs]

She is not a qualifying child. She is a qualifying person to qualify you to file as Qualifying Surviving Spouse. A qualifying child and a qualifying person are not the same thing.

There are two types of dependents, called qualifying child and qualifying relative. Your daughter cannot be a qualifying child (of you or anyone else) because of her age. There is no age restriction for a qualifying relative, but there is an income restriction. Your daughter meets all the requirements to be your qualifying relative except that her income is more than $4,700. But there is a special rule that the income limit does not apply to a qualifying person for Qualifying Surviving Spouse filing status, as long as she meets all the other requirements to be a qualifying relative. So you cannot claim her as a dependent because of her income, but you can use her as a qualifying person for Qualifying Surviving Spouse filing status.

[Critter-3]

From the IRS: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4012.pdf

Who is a Qualifying Widow(er)?  (now called qualifying surviving spouse) 

Taxpayers who do not remarry in the year their spouse dies can file jointly with the deceased spouse. For the two years following the year of death, the surviving spouse may be able to use the Qualifying Widow(er) filing status.

To qualify, the taxpayer must:

• Be entitled to file a joint return for the year the spouse died, regardless of whether the taxpayer actually filed a joint return that year.

• Have had a spouse who died in either of the two prior years. The taxpayer must not remarry before the end of the current tax year.

• Have a child, stepchild, or adopted child who qualifies as the taxpayer’s dependent for the year or would qualify as the taxpayer’s dependent except that he or she does not meet the gross income test, or does not meet the joint return test, or except that the taxpayer may be claimed as a dependent of another taxpayer.

• Live with this child in the taxpayer’s home all year, except for temporary absences.

• Have paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home for the year.

A foster child does not qualify a taxpayer for the Qualifying Widow(er) filing status. T

The standard deduction and tax tables are the same for Qualifying Widow(er) and Married Filing Jointly filing statuses. These are more favorable than those for Head of Household filing status.

[mlbrown]

Thank you for your reply and it is all beginning to make sense. I see where Turbo Tax says there is a special rule as you were saying.

As described below:

Special Rules for Dependents of a Qualifying Surviving Spouse

Individuals who lost their spouse in 2021 or 2022 and did not remarry before the end of 2023 may file as Qualifying Surviving Spouse if they had a child or stepchild who:
 - Had gross income of $4,700 or more
 - Filed a joint return
As long as:
- Your child lived in your home for all of 2023 , and
 - You paid over half the cost of keeping up the home you both lived in, and
- You could have filed a joint return with your spouse the year they died, even if you didn't actually do so.
If the child did not live in your home because of a "temporary absence" like attending school, vacation, business, medical care, military service or detention in a juvenile facility, these times of temporary absences count as time lived in your home.

Just to confirm, I have not been able to find this in the 1040 Instructions or Pub 501.

What am I missing?

Thanks for your input.

[rjs]

The rules that you quoted under "Special Rules for Dependents of a Qualifying Surviving Spouse" are either poorly worded or just plain wrong. You certainly will not find that same wording in the IRS Form 1040 instructions or in IRS Pub. 501. You didn't say where TurboTax says that.

In fact, there are no "special rules for dependents of a qualifying surviving spouse." There rules for whom you can claim as a dependent. Those rules are the same whether or not you are a qualifying surviving spouse. There are also rules for a child who qualifies you to file as qualifying surviving spouse. That child might or might not be your dependent.

Just ignore what you said "TurboTax says." They tried to combine two separate sets of somewhat confusing rules into one set of rules, and they didn't quite get it right.

In Pub. 501 see "Qualifying Surviving Spouse" on page 9, and particularly eligibility rule 3 in that section. Rule 3 refers to a child "whom you can claim as a dependent or could claim as a dependent except that. . . ." So you might have to refer to the rules for dependents starting on page 11. But keep in mind that rule 3 for a qualifying relative (the "gross income test") does not apply to a child who qualifies you to file as qualifying surviving spouse. The gross income test is item "a" under "except that" in eligibility rule 3 for qualifying surviving spouse.

[MarilynG1]

Here's a link from IRS Pub. 17 that explains the Qualifying Surviving Spouse criteria.  Go to page 25 for details.

[dandersoncpa88]

Is the daughter who is 47 and is the qualifying person but not a dependent on dad's return, still able to file her return as single with the standard deduction? Thanks!

[Cynthiad66]

To qualify for head of household on your tax return, you must be unmarried or considered unmarried by the IRS and live with a qualifying person that you can claim as a dependent, such as a child or elderly parent, for more than half of the year.

Video:  How To Prove Head of Household to the IRS

@dandersoncpa88 

[dandersoncpa88]

I was refering to the qualifying surviving  spouse thread and that was my question, not anything regarding head of household. Thank you though 

[rjs]

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@dandersoncpa88 wrote:

Is the daughter who is 47 and is the qualifying person but not a dependent on dad's return, still able to file her return as single with the standard deduction? Thanks!

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Yes. The OP's 47-year-old daughter cannot be claimed as a dependent by anyone because of her age and income. She answers No to the question of whether anyone can claim her as a dependent. We don't know if she can file as single because we don't know if she is single or married. The OP never said. But whatever her filing status is, she can get the regular standard deduction for someone who is not a dependent. She cannot file as head of household, even though she has children, because the OP (the grandparent) is paying more than half the cost of keeping up the home.

Basically, being the qualifying person for her parent to file as qualifying surviving spouse does not affect the daughter's tax return at all, as long as she is not also a dependent.

[dandersoncpa88]

Many thanks!!