Widowed taxes not calculating correctly

[J_Blue]

The tax rates for Married Filing Jointly and Widowed are the same.  I have two young children that are my dependents.  I have entered my income and deductions and:

1) When I set my info to "Widowed", TurboTax says I owe a large amount of federal taxes.  My tax situation has been consistent over the years (apart from becoming a widower) and I always have gotten a refund.

2) When I change my status to Married Filing Jointly, TT says I get a big refund

This is very frustrating

[xmasbaby0]

Very sorry for your loss.   For the year that your spouse passed, you were able to file a joint return.   For the next two years after that, you can file as a Qualifying Surviving Spouse if you have qualifying dependent children claimed on your return.  That way you get the same standard deduction that would be allowed on a joint tax return.   Have you entered the children as dependents in MY INFO?