a married couple, but one passed away

[jasontran]

Hello,

I have never faced this situation before.  There is a married couple who file a joint return. But in November 2019, the husband passed away and he had income.  They have no dependents. What filling status should they  file. Does the husband need to file his taxes or just the wife? 

Thank you,

at

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

They still file Married Jointly and you include both of their incomes.  

[jasontran · Accepted solution]

Thank you Lisa!   But how would the husband sign the return? He already passed away. 

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

He obviously wont be able to sign.  Be sure you input his date of death into the Fed Info Worksheet, it will print Deceased - and his name/SSN at the top of the 1040.  The spouse would sign the return.

[IRonMaN]

This is where a Ouija board comes in handy 

But if you are like me and don't have one, the IRS is always happy with the spouse's signature.

[Accountant-Man]

You probably would have received the correct answer on the Turbotax page, since this page is for paid preparers.