Reporting interest income for deceased spouse in second year after death

I'm sorry for your loss. The good news is that this situation is pretty straightforward. Since these were joint accounts, you can report all the interest on your own tax return, even if the 1099-INT forms show your wife's SSN. When you file your return, you'll need to include all this interest income on Schedule B (Interest and Ordinary Dividends). On Schedule B, list each payer as shown on the 1099-INT. For any 1099-INT issued with your wife's SSN, you should still list it, but you might want to add a brief note on your return explaining that the interest was from a joint account and the form was issued under your deceased spouse's SSN. You do not need to file a separate tax return for your deceased spouse in the second year after death. Just make sure to contact those financial institutions to update the primary account holder information to prevent this issue in future tax years.

I went through something similar last year after my husband passed. I was getting tons of tax forms with his SSN and it was super confusing. I tried calling the IRS but was on hold forever. Then I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly how to handle all the different forms. They analyzed my documents and explained that for joint accounts, I just needed to report everything on my return with a simple explanation. They even created a custom letter I could attach to my return explaining why some 1099s had a different SSN. Saved me from having to file an extra return for my deceased husband, which I was about to do unnecessarily!

I just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after our discussion here. I decided to give it a try with my situation (deceased parent with multiple 1099s in their name). I uploaded all the documents and got really clear guidance within hours. They explained exactly which income needed separate estate filing and which could go on my personal return. They even caught a mistake I would have made with some savings bonds that had special rules after death. The detailed explanation letter they created for me to attach to my return made me feel much more confident that I wouldn't get flagged for audit. Definitely worth it for peace of mind during an already difficult time. Wish I'd known about this service last year!

I know everyone's suggesting different ways to handle the tax forms, but honestly, if you want a definitive answer, you should just call the IRS directly. That's what I did in a similar situation. Yeah, I know - calling the IRS sounds terrible, but I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it was a game-changer. They got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd previously spent HOURS on hold. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed exactly what I needed to do with the 1099s in my deceased mom's name and gave me specific instructions for my situation. It was actually reassuring to get the answer straight from the source.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still struggling with my own inherited IRA distribution issues and finally decided to give it a try out of desperation. The service actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 20 minutes with a real IRS agent on the line. I explained my situation with the 1099-R forms showing my deceased father's information, and the agent walked me through exactly how to report everything correctly on my return. The agent even put notes in my file about the situation so if there were any automatic flags from the SSN mismatch, they would already have documentation about why. Sorry for being so cynical before - sometimes things actually do work as advertised!

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you've filed the appropriate forms with those financial institutions! When my spouse passed, I had to provide each bank and investment company with a death certificate and complete their specific "deceased account holder" forms. Some institutions will automatically reissue corrected 1099s once you do this (showing your SSN instead), which makes tax filing much easier. Others will note it in their system but still issue the forms with the deceased's SSN for that tax year. Either way, you should absolutely get this done soon to avoid the same problem next year.

Has anyone dealt with the situation where some accounts were individual (not joint) accounts of the deceased spouse? I'm dealing with this right now - some accounts were joint, but others were solely in my husband's name. I'm the executor of his estate, but I'm confused about how to report interest from his individual accounts.

I'm sorry for your loss, Sophia. This is actually a very common situation, and you're handling it correctly by asking for guidance. Since these were joint accounts, you should report all the interest income on your single tax return, even though some 1099-INT forms show your wife's SSN. The key thing to remember is that joint account income belongs to the surviving spouse. Here's what I recommend: 1. Report all interest on Schedule B of your tax return 2. List each payer exactly as shown on the 1099-INT forms 3. Include a brief statement with your return explaining that some 1099-INT forms were issued under your deceased spouse's SSN because she was the primary account holder on joint accounts You do NOT need to file a separate return for your deceased wife in the second year after her death. That would only be necessary if she had income that belonged solely to her estate. Make sure to contact those financial institutions to update the primary account holder information so future tax documents will be issued with your SSN. Most institutions will need a certified copy of the death certificate and may have specific forms to complete. The IRS is familiar with this situation, so don't worry too much about automatic flags - your explanatory statement should resolve any questions.