Wife passed away in 2023

[DMZ08]

Wife passed away in January of 2023, That month still received her SOC SEC, IRA Payment, and Retirement Payment - Do I need to do anything special when posting these revenues? How do I list her on the return, married filing joint or what? 

[DoninGA]

Since your spouse passed away in 2023 you should be filing your 2023 tax return as Married Filing Jointly.  Enter the income received for the both of you on the 2023 return.

Using TurboTax, in the Personal Info section, when completing the information for your spouse, you will be asked if they passed away and the date of passing in 2023.

[dev145]

Hello DMZ08,

I am sorry about your loss. 

You will file and prepare the final individual income tax return of a deceased person the same way you would if the person were alive. Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions. Since your wife passed away in Jan, you can still file a joint return for tax year 2023.

Any income after the date of death will be taxable either to the estate of deceased or to the person who receives it.  If SSA and fiduciary of retirement accounts are aware of the death, they will report income properly under correct SSN/EIN number. 

Thanks for participating in TurboTax's Ask the Expert event today. I hope this information was helpful!