If a taxpayer's spouse dies during the tax year, can they use HOH?

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Multiple Choice

If a taxpayer's spouse dies during the tax year, can they use HOH?

Head of Household is available only when you are unmarried on the last day of the year and you provide a home for a qualifying person, paying more than half the household costs. When a spouse dies during the year, the situation changes: in that tax year you generally do not file as Head of Household. Instead, the surviving spouse is handled under the widow(er) rules, specifically Qualifying Widow(er) with a dependent child, for up to two years if you have a qualifying dependent and you did not remarry. If there isn’t a qualifying dependent, you’d typically file as Single. In short, the tax year of the spouse’s death typically isn’t the year you use Head of Household.

Head of Household is available only when you are unmarried on the last day of the year and you provide a home for a qualifying person, paying more than half the household costs. When a spouse dies during the year, the situation changes: in that tax year you generally do not file as Head of Household. Instead, the surviving spouse is handled under the widow(er) rules, specifically Qualifying Widow(er) with a dependent child, for up to two years if you have a qualifying dependent and you did not remarry. If there isn’t a qualifying dependent, you’d typically file as Single. In short, the tax year of the spouse’s death typically isn’t the year you use Head of Household.

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