My husband passed away 7/18/12. He did not have taxes taken out of his retirement or social security. Do I have to file a joint return like usual or can I file a head of household? I work & have 2 kids. I don't want to pay the taxes on his income.

ANSWER

The BIDaWIZ Team's Answer:

If your spouse died during the year, you are considered married for the whole year for filing status purposes. You can either file as married filing jointly or separately. Filing jointly yields the greatest number of tax benefits. Generally, you'll have to file in cooperation with the executor or administrator of your spouse's estate. Please note that you must write "deceased" across the top of the return, along with your spouse's name and date of death. The following two years, you can file qualified widow with dependent for tax saving purposes.