If your spouse dies, your tax return is likely one of the last things on your mind.

But the surviving spouse’s tax bill climbs (often steeply), and Medicare premium hikes follow two years later.

Here is one thing to know: The tax increase does not start on the date of death. Federal law allows you to file a joint return in the year of death and perhaps for another two years after that.

That gap is your planning window. Don’t procrastinate too long.

Get the Timeline Right

Three phases govern the timeline.

Phase 1: The Year of Death

Tax code Section 7703(a)(1) normally fixes your marital status on the last day of the tax year. Death triggers an express exception: the statute fixes your status as of the date of death instead.1 Section 6013 then lets you file a joint return with your deceased spouse, covering the entire year of death.2 That return reports your spouse’s income and deductions through the date of death, plus your own income and deductions for all 12 months.3

Key point. If you remarry before December 31 of the year your spouse dies, you forfeit the joint return with the decedent. You file jointly with your new spouse, and your late spouse’s estate files a separate return.4

Who signs for the deceased spouse? If a court has appointed an executor or administrator, that person signs the joint return with you. If no one holds ... Log in to view full article.