Question

Parker and his wife marie would have been filing a joint tax return for 2015, however marie died in october of 2015. parker has not remarried and continues to maintain a home for himself and his two children during 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. parker’s filing statuses for 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 are as follows:

Answer 1

Parker can file jointly and take an exception for being a widower in 2015. For the next two years, he can file as a qualified widower and 2018 he can file as head of household. He will qualify for less tax benefits as he goes along, but it’s still better than filing as a single person.