How Irs Form 13844 Spouse 2025

Tax planning when a spouse dies is what we're going to talk about here today. There are some specific rules that you need to know and follow to take advantage of the tax code. If you're interested in learning more about taxes and retirement planning, make sure to subscribe to the Heritage Wealth Planning YouTube channel and click the bell for notifications. Now, let me share a real-world case study that I recently worked on with a client and his mother. The husband passed away in April, leaving behind his wife who is still alive. When it comes to filing taxes for 2018, the wife will still file as married filing jointly because the year of the spouse's death allows for this filing status until the end of the year. However, in the following year, unless she qualifies as a qualifying widow taking care of a child, she will be considered a single taxpayer. It is important to note that tax planning needs to be done by the end of the year to ensure the best outcomes. Unfortunately, in this case, the wife's accountant advised her that no action was necessary, which is incorrect. Let me explain why. In this specific case, the husband was receiving $1,700 a month in Social Security from January to April, and the wife was receiving $1,300 a month during the same period. This means they received a total of $12,000 in Social Security benefits. After the husband's passing, the wife will no longer receive her own Social Security benefits, but will instead start receiving the husband's benefits of $2,700 a month for the remaining eight months of the year, totaling $13,600. Additionally, the wife also has a pension from her work with the city, which amounts to $2,000 a month, or $24,000 for the year. Therefore, her total...