SS Income with Death of Spouse

Question

My spouse passed away in 2024 after an illness, we normally would file joint but he had a payout on his Retirement plan that would push my income over the limit for Marketplace insurance and income for SS.  If I file single or head of household I would still be over about 10K on the Market place income before deductions as a result of a payout on part of my retirement.  With only me in the household since his death do I file single or head of household to reduce as much liability as possible?

GeorgeM · Answer

Hello bws:

How to report your deceased spouse’s social security income will depend, in part, on whether your spouse’s estate remains open or closed.  If it is still open, then the Administrator/Executor of the estate will handle your spouse’s social security income consistent with your spouse’s will, or if there is no will, then consistent with your state’s intestacy laws.  The Administrator/Executor will handle the reporting of the estate’s income, including the receipt of any social security income, and will also handle the distribution of the estate’s assets and how those assets are reported to the beneficiaries.

If your spouse’s estate is closed, and you were considered the sole beneficiary of your deceased spouse’s estate, then you can report the social security income on your tax return.  Even though the benefits relate to 2024, because they were received in 2025, they are reported on your 2025 tax return.

If you decide to report your spouse’s social security benefits on your tax return, here is the menu path to follow: click on Income > in the drop down, click on Social Security Benefits (SSA-1099) > on the screen “Social Security Benefits (Form SSA-1099)” proceed to enter your information in the boxes provided.

bws · Answer

How do I enter Social Security income for 2024 for my deceased wife I received in 2025?v

rachels · Answer

https://community.freetaxusa.com/discussion/comment/3219#Comment_3219

If your spouse passed away in 2024, you generally cannot file as Single on your 2024 tax return at all, since the IRS considers you to be married for the full year, even if your spouse passed away during 2024.

You would typically only qualify to file with the Head of Household status if you paid to keep up a home for a qualifying person (not your spouse) and were ASLO considered unmarried during the tax year. For more information on the Head of Household filing status, see:

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501#en_US_2023_publink1000220774

In other words, your question is likely not applicable to your situation, since your spouse was alive for part of 2024. Generally, your two options would be Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.

If you would like, you can log into your FreeTaxUSA account and enter approximations of your income and other information for 2024 so you can get an idea of what to expect when it comes time to file in January.