Are there special tax filing requirements for a friend of mine who over the course of last year lost her husband and moved to another state? She had been listed as a dependent on her husband's taxes. Does she have to file taxes on her deceased husband's behalf? Would software such as Turbotax handle her situation or would she be better off having taxes done by a person such as HR Block or a CPA?
Thx.
2007-01-18 00:52:40 · 10 answers · asked by QueAndAy 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Thanks to everyone for their answers to my question. It helped clarify things and also generated some questions too. I decided to put your answers up for voting and will post a followup question under the heading "What are the tax filing requirements for a final return?". Feel free to answer that one too. Thx.
2007-01-19 01:10:25 · update #1
If her husband was alive and paid taxes during 2006 then she can file on his behalf. Turbo Tax has a place to put that the person is deceased. I don't know how it handles it but I always use Turbo Tax and have had no problem with it.
2007-01-18 01:01:21 · answer #1 · answered by walkerhound03 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She does have to file a return for the deceased husband. She is allowed to file married filing jointly with him.
Turbotax can handle this. When the deceased person is entered, there is a choice to note that the person is deceased. The return is normal except for that. It will print out with notations and the surviving spouse will sign the return.
If she is more comfortable having someone else handle this, since this is a one-time event, it might be good to let a preparer do this. It is less stressful and will be over in less than an hour for her. So I would suggest a professional preparer or a friend who is experienced with the software to help her.
2007-01-18 03:52:45 · answer #2 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Firstly, I'm sorry for your friend's loss.
Turbo Tax can deal with all types of situations. Your friend does not need to go to a CPA or any other tax preparation place. If she has children that she can claim as her dependents (under 17 yrs old and lived with her for the whole 12 months of the 2006 year), she can claim Qualifying widow with child (#5 in the Filing Status area). If she was married at the time her husband passed, she can still claim Married Filing Joint if they did not have children and even if only one of them had income. The standard deduction amount is $10,300.00 for both situations.
Go to www.irs.gov. Make sure you do NOT go to any other website like www.irs.com or anything. Those are scam sites. You can also go to your local library, post office, IRS walk-in site (which you can locate at the www.IRS.gov website).
By the way, your friend can claim Widow with a qualifying child for the next 2 filing tax years. After that, she can file Head of Household.
2007-01-18 01:13:58 · answer #3 · answered by porselin 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She wasn't listed as a dependent on her husband's return, since that can't be done. She probably filed a joint return with him.
Yes, a "final return" has to be filed for her husband. TurboTax would very possibly handle it. But a better option would be to look for a VITA or TCE site if the return is reasonably straightforward, or to see a CPA if it's very complex. Ineither case, she should take along a copy of last year's return.
You can find information about VITA and TCE at irs.gov - they are programs where trained volunteers prepare and file taxes at no charge.
2007-01-18 17:32:41 · answer #4 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, she needs to file income taxes on her husbands income during 2006 before he passed away. She may also need to file an estate tax return on whatever property was inherited from him.
Turbo Tax can handle it if it is a straightforward situation, I suggest she try putting the information in there and if she is not satisfied, then go to an accountant instead.
2007-01-18 01:22:53 · answer #5 · answered by growing inside 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She will be filing a joint return with her deceased husband this year. She should take her taxes to a professional unless she has some knowledge of the tax laws. A pro can help her to plan her future tax years and offer advice.
2007-01-18 01:04:47 · answer #6 · answered by d_guy67 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't use HR Block. A CPA would be better for her. it will cost more but worth it. She can get tax advise also from a CPA.
Don't use a box program either.
They probably filed jointly? She still needs to report her husbands income for 2006. She would only have to report income she made in her new state.
2007-01-18 01:02:42 · answer #7 · answered by Baked n Blended 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
TurboTax can handle it if she's up to actually doing them. Otherwise, I'd sit down with a real person and do them.
The software has every eventuality built into it, so there's a virtual hand holding hers :)
She will have to file joint, spouse deceased for the first year. After that she files single.
2007-01-18 01:01:35 · answer #8 · answered by Lynne 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Block? - NO! CPA - YES!
If there was much of an estate, like a house, or whatever, she should have already been in contact with her lawyer, and that lawyer should be well prepared to hook her up with the appropriate accountant.
My experience is that Block is fine for people who own no property, have no investments, no business considerations, no health issues and are expecting 200 to 300 dollar refund.
2007-01-18 01:02:22 · answer #9 · answered by gabluesmanxlt 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no in the first place you would have to get IRS approval for a non profit and I doubt very much that a restaurant will qualify if you want to get the 1023 and 1026 applications from www.irs.gov to see if you could qualify, go for it and no Goodwill does charge sales tax on the items they sell, because this is an unrelated business to their non profit operation
2016-05-24 03:04:39 · answer #10 · answered by Alejandra 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋