qualifying surviving spouse

[Patriciagw]

My spouse died in 2020. I was able to file joint for that year.  For 2021 I had to file single and paid a lot of estimated tax.  My 52 year old son has lived with me for about 5 years and has always worked or drawn unemployment.  In 2022 he had NO income at all.  I supported him.  I put him as a dependent and Turbotax says I can file as a qualifying surviving spouse.  He is 52 years old.  This gives me an extremely large refund from federal and state.  I'm nervous about this and want to make sure I am doing this right. 

[DoninGA]

You can file as a Qualifying Widower for two years after the year of passing of your spouse.  Claiming your son as a dependent gives you this filing status for tax year 2022 and is perfectly within the tax code.

[fanfare]

@DoninGA 

you're not allowed to use the word widow or widower any more. Compare 2021 and 2022 IRS Pub 17.

@Patriciagw 

if his gross income was less than $4,300 in 2021 you can amend that year's tax return as well

[DoninGA]

@fanfare This old guy is not Woke 😡

[Patriciagw]

Thanks for the reply.  Your answer corresponds with every other item on the topic so I went with it and filed.  My understanding is that I will not qualify for 2023 since it is the third year from my spouse's passing, even if I still claim my son as a dependent.  I hope he has a job by that time.