Deceased spouse

[gidgetgaga]

My spouse died in 2017.  Since she cannot sign the document for 2016 taxes, how do I proceed?

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

IRS Publication 17 - https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch02.html#en_US_2016_publink1000170746

Spouse died before signing.    If your spouse died before signing the return, the executor or administrator must sign the return for your spouse. If neither you nor anyone else has yet been appointed as executor or administrator, you can sign the return for your spouse and enter “ Filing as surviving spouse ” in the area where you sign the return.

In the TurboTax program when entering your personal information you should have selected that you were married and filing the tax return with your spouse (Married Filing Jointly).  When entering your spouse's personal information there is a screen Do Any of These Apply to (spouse's First Name).  On the screen is a checkbox Passed away before filing this return.  Make sure that you have checked the box and enter the date of passing.  Then continue with the rest of the Personal Info section.

See Screenshot

[russ6]

Filed with deceased spouse electronically. Program used last year's AGI as deceased spouse's ID. It was correct. REturn was rejected for incorrect ID. Verified AGI was correct and resubmitted again. Rejected again. What do I do

[DoninGA]

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@russ6 wrote:

Filed with deceased spouse electronically. Program used last year's AGI as deceased spouse's ID. It was correct. REturn was rejected for incorrect ID. Verified AGI was correct and resubmitted again. Rejected again. What do I do

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Decedent Returns- The program might not efile a decedent return. If the Primary or Secondary taxpayer on the return is a decedent, it may be necessary to mail in the return.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for printing a tax return for mailing - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/printing/help/how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online...

[DMarkM1]

Be sure to verify the entries in the "My Info" section. 

1.  You should have selected that you were married and filing the tax return with your spouse (Married Filing Jointly).  

2.  When entering your spouse's personal information there is a screen Do Any of These Apply to (spouse's First Name).  

3.  On the screen is a checkbox Passed away before filing this return.  

4.  Make sure that you have checked the box and enter the date of passing.  

5.  Then continue with the rest of the Personal Info section.

After rechecking above.  Go through the filing steps and when you get to the page asking for ID. Try selecting another form if possible for your spouse.    

[Annette Sirnes]

My husband Daniel Sirnes died on September 14 2019 I am his wife who is still alive and trying to do our taxes which he always did before he died.

[Annette Sirnes]

My husband died on sep 14,2019 I am his wife. I am trying to do our taxes for the first time since he passed away.

[MayaD]

Sorry for your loss. For 2019 you can still file Married filing Jointly, you will indicate that your spouse passed away during 2019 in the My Info Section. 

[R Taylor]

I am using TurboTax to prepare & file a simple tax return for my in-laws as I have done for 6 years now.  My father-in-law died in 2020.  They have always filed married filing jointly with his name listed first.  He also had an Identity Protection PIN which was required due to his name being listed first.  Since he passed away, the IRS did not send a new Identity Protection PIN to use in 2021 and this is typically required for the first individual listed in the tax return.  

So do I list my mother-in-law first, with her deceased spouse second, to bypass the requirement for the ID Protection PIN?  Will reversing the order of how they are listed this year compared to last year cause problems or delays?  Or is this actually the proper way to do this since she is the surviving spouse?  

P.S., I am hoping to file the return electronically to prevent the lengthy refund delays being experienced with paper returns.  She desperately needs the refund due her.

[ToddL99]

I'd recommend listing your deceased father-in-law first, since this is a joint return and he was listed first in previous joint returns. This may require printing and filing the return by mail, but assures some continuity insofar as the IRS' records of his meeting his tax filing requirements.

In the IRS instructions for Form 1040:

"If you filed a joint return for 2019 and you're filing a joint return for 2020 with the same spouse, be sure to enter your names and SSNs in the same order as on your 2019 return."

Deceased Persons – Filing the Final Return(s) of a Deceased Person

Listing your mother-in-law first is probably just fine, but she may still encounter issues with the PIN requirement and  e-filing. Changing the established name order isn't the end of the world, but it could result in processing delays for your taxes.

[Tinosmom]

This happened to me. Couldn't figure out how to fix this even with turbotax experts. Figured out if your deceased spouse was the primary taxpayer, you need to switch them to secondary. Once I made myself primary, my federal was accepted and the state acceptance was 48 hours later. Hope this helps. 

[Tinosmom]

I switched the order to make myself primary and my deceased husband secondary and my return was accepted. Make sure you go through all the paperwork to ensure the ssn and birthday is correct for both before submission. Before making this change, my return was being rejected. 

[R Taylor]

Thanks @Tinosmom  !  I did as you said and the tax return was accepted.  Interestingly, I was concerned that I wouldn't get the various entries updated properly with the switch in names, so I created a brand new tax return file with the names reversed but it was rejected also.  So I went back to the original file, reversed the names and updated the related entries as you described, and it worked! 

So now that the return has accepted, did anyone experience delays in actually getting the refund with this approach?

[Tinosmom]

Since its under the 21 days when the Irs states you should receive your refund, hopefully none of us will experience any delays. I expect my refund by 3/8/21. Cross your fingers. 

[Tinosmom]

I got my refund 2/23/21.