Are there special tax filing requirements for a friend of mine who over the course of last year lost her husband and moved to another state? She had been listed as a dependent on her husband’s taxes. Does she have to file taxes on her deceased husband’s behalf? Would software such as Turbotax handle her situation or would she be better off having taxes done by a person such as HR Block or a CPA?
Thx.
What Are The Tax Filing Requirements – Life Events?
Posted on January 31, 2010 by admin, Filed under Answers
If her husband was alive and paid taxes during 2006 then she can file on his behalf. Turbo Tax has a place to put that the person is deceased. I don’t know how it handles it but I always use Turbo Tax and have had no problem with it.
She does have to file a return for the deceased husband. She is allowed to file married filing jointly with him.
Turbotax can handle this. When the deceased person is entered, there is a choice to note that the person is deceased. The return is normal except for that. It will print out with notations and the surviving spouse will sign the return.
If she is more comfortable having someone else handle this, since this is a one-time event, it might be good to let a preparer do this. It is less stressful and will be over in less than an hour for her. So I would suggest a professional preparer or a friend who is experienced with the software to help her.
TurboTax can handle it if she’s up to actually doing them. Otherwise, I’d sit down with a real person and do them.
The software has every eventuality built into it, so there’s a virtual hand holding hers
She will have to file joint, spouse deceased for the first year. After that she files single.
Yes, she needs to file income taxes on her husbands income during 2006 before he passed away. She may also need to file an estate tax return on whatever property was inherited from him.
Turbo Tax can handle it if it is a straightforward situation, I suggest she try putting the information in there and if she is not satisfied, then go to an accountant instead.
She will be filing a joint return with her deceased husband this year. She should take her taxes to a professional unless she has some knowledge of the tax laws. A pro can help her to plan her future tax years and offer advice.