Qualifying Widow/Widower This means that and Tax Advantages

What Is a Qualifying Widow/Widower?

The federal qualifying widow or widower tax filing status is available for two years for widows and widowers (surviving spouses) with dependents after their spouse’s death. The surviving spouse would most likely record jointly with the deceased spouse for the tax year right through which the spouse has died, and they can claim the standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly. For the next two tax years, the surviving spouse can record as a qualifying widow or widower within the tournament that they take care of a circle of relatives for the couple’s dependent kids.

Understanding Qualifying Widow/Widower

The qualifying widow or widower tax filing status is not available inside the year of the spouse’s death. To qualify, the spouse will have to have qualified for the married filing jointly status inside the year of the spouse’s death. Additional IRS must haves include:

• The taxpayer may not remarry.
• A qualifying taxpayer will have to claim a qualifying dependent. Qualifying dependents are the spouse’s kids, step-children, or adopted kids. The IRS does now not allow foster kids to qualify.
• The qualifying dependent will have to live inside the qualifying widow or widower’s area for all the year. Temporary absences on account of vacation, education, medical treatment, military supplier, or business movements are acceptable, as long as it is “inexpensive to assume that the absent explicit particular person will return to the home after the temporary absence” and the home is saved up all over the absence.
• The surviving spouse has paid over one-half the costs associated with maintaining the home. Expenses include the mortgage or rent expenses, property taxes, utilities, and groceries.

Advantages of Qualifying Widow/Widower

An individual would most likely pay a lot much less in federal income taxes when filing as a qualifying widow or widower. The qualifying widow or widower can enjoy the equivalent standard deduction amount as married {{couples}} filing jointly, and, as of 2018, qualifying widows and widowers enjoy the equivalent tax bracket as married {{couples}} filing jointly. This gives widowed spouses two years to transition financially to the higher tax burden of a single, unmarried filer. For example, if the deceased spouse passed on to the great beyond in 2019, the surviving spouse can use the qualifying widow or widower status to enjoy married filing jointly standard deductions and tax brackets for the tax years 2020 and 2021.

Lower taxes are specifically helpful when the surviving spouse is paying funeral costs, final expenses, and fundamental expenses associated with maintaining a area and rearing kids. The lowered tax burden makes it easier for a surviving spouse to continue to supply for their kids, and to transition to a single, unmarried filer, or head of circle of relatives status.

In addition to, if the qualifying dependent is born or dies all over the year, a taxpayer would most likely however record beneath the qualified widow or widower status. All over again, they will have to have paid more than one-half the costs of maintaining the home all over the child’s lifestyles, or previous to the child’s starting. Moreover, the child will have to have lived with the qualifying taxpayer all over the year.