Personal Investments • Help with Portfolio for my mom age 83

Tax Benefits for Survivors

Survivors can qualify for certain benefits when filing their own income tax returns.

Joint return by surviving spouse. A surviving spouse can file a joint return for the year of death and may qualify for special tax rates for the following 2 years, as explained under Qualifying surviving spouse, later.

(cas: OP's mother is a "surviving spouse", but (presumably) *not* a Qualifying surviving spouse. But I leave in the Qualifying Surviving Spouse wording because it plays into the Example that follows.])

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Qualifying surviving spouse. If your spouse died within the 2 tax years preceding the year for which your return is being filed, you may be eligible to claim the filing status of qualifying surviving spouse with dependent child and qualify to use the married-filing-jointly tax rates.

Requirements. Generally, you qualify for this special benefit if you meet all of the following requirements.
-You were entitled to file a joint return with your spouse for the year of death—whether or not you actually filed jointly.
-You didn't remarry before the end of the current tax year.
-You have a child, stepchild, or foster child who qualifies as your dependent for the tax year.
-You provide more than half the cost of maintaining your home, which is the principal residence of that child for the entire year except for temporary absences.

Example. Skyler’s spouse, Cameron, died in 2022. Skyler hasn't remarried and continued throughout 2023 and 2024 to maintain a home for self and dependent child. For 2022, Skyler was entitled to file a joint return with Cameron. For 2023 and 2024, Skyler qualifies to file as a qualifying surviving spouse with dependent child. For later years, Skyler may qualify to file as head of household.

Statistics: Posted by cas — Tue Aug 26, 2025 9:13 am — Replies 12 — Views 1136