What is a qualifying widower?

[SamiaI · Accepted solution]

It is one of the filing status out of the 5 statuses that the IRS offers (Single, Married filing jointly, Married filing separately,Head of household, Qualifying widow or widower). Qualifying Widower is a filing status that allows you to retain the benefits of the Married Filing Jointly status for two years after the year of your spouse's death.

If your spouse died in 2015 or 2016, you didn't remarry in 2017, and you have a child that meets certain qualifications, you might be able to file as a Qualifying Widow(er) which has certain tax advantages. When you go through the Personal Info section in TurboTax, we'll ask a series of questions to determine if you meet those requirements.

[DanielV01]

See the following IRS link to see the definition of this term and whether or not you might qualify to claim as such:  Qualifying Widow(er)

[Chuck691]

Since my wife past away last year, why isn't my filing status Qualified Widower???

[Critter-3]

In the year the spouse passes you can still file jointly( or separately if you choose which may let you have HOH if you qualify)  ... then the next 2 tax years you can be qualifying widower followed by HOH if you still have a qualifying child.  In the TT program MY INFO section the program asks about your marital status then helps you make the correct filing status decision based on your situation. 

[xmasbaby0]

@Chuck691 So sorry for your loss.   When you say your spouse passed away "last year" ---please be specific---in what tax year did she pass away?  "last year" is too vague for us to understand when you are talking about tax years.

What are you trying to do now?   Are you working on a 2020 tax return or are you starting on a return for 2021?  Do you have any dependent children?

[hero2]

Thank you

[jane131]

Thanks, my spouse died in December 2020 and this will be the first year as filing as a widow but it only acknowledge me as Single.  Can I correct it?

[MarilynG]

Yes, Single would be the correct filing status for a Widow, unless you also have Dependents.

Make sure you entered in the MY INFO section that you are widowed, and that your spouse passed away in 2020.

Sorry for your loss. 

Here's more info on Taxpayers Who Have Lost a Spouse. 

@jane131

[ryounk]

I'm working on my 2021 taxes. I have no dependents and my husband passed away in 2017.

[DawnC]

If you have not remarried since your husband passed, you choose Single.   @ryounk