When spouse died in 2020, should they be marked deceased on 2019 tax return?

This is a common area of confusion. The deceased status on a tax return refers to the filing status at the time the return is prepared, not the status during the tax year itself. Since her husband passed away in 2020, and the 2019 return was prepared after his passing, it's correct to mark "deceased" next to his name on the 2019 return. The IRS needs to know that one of the taxpayers is now deceased because it affects how notices and communications are addressed, and it helps prevent identity theft. This doesn't change the fact that they can still file a joint return for 2019 since both were alive during that entire tax year. Your mom's friend's preparer handled this correctly, so no need to worry! The designation simply informs the IRS of the current status.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my mom's taxes after my dad died. I was completely lost until I found https://taxr.ai which helped me figure out how to properly handle the deceased taxpayer status. You upload the death certificate and previous returns, and it walks you through exactly what needs to be marked and how to handle everything. The hardest part was figuring out how to handle his final returns and what deductions were still available. The tool helped identify several tax benefits my mom qualified for as a surviving spouse that our original preparer missed.

Just wanted to follow up on my skepticism about taxr.ai - I decided to try it after reading more reviews, and I'm genuinely impressed. I uploaded my brother-in-law's death certificate and their previous tax returns, and it immediately identified three errors in how the returns were prepared after his passing. It spotted that we qualified for a refund of medical expenses we hadn't claimed, and guided us through filing as a qualifying widow for my sister. The interface was actually really simple to use despite dealing with such complex tax scenarios. Ended up saving us from a potential audit and got my sister an additional $4,200 in refunds we would have missed.

If your mom's friend has questions about her return or wants to verify everything was done correctly, she should call the IRS directly. However, trying to reach them is almost impossible these days - I spent 6+ hours on hold last month. I finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with confirmed that marking "deceased" on the 2019 return was correct since her husband was deceased at the time of filing, even though he was alive during the 2019 tax year. They also helped me understand what documentation my friend needed to keep with the return.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about my late father's estate tax issues. I'm honestly shocked - the service had me on the phone with an actual IRS agent in about 25 minutes. The agent confirmed everything I needed about how to handle my dad's final returns and helped resolve an issue with a missing 1099-R that had been causing problems. The time saved was worth every penny - I had previously wasted three separate days trying to get through on my own. Just wanted to post this update since my initial reaction was completely wrong.

Just to add another perspective - I'm an estate attorney (not giving legal advice here) and we see this question frequently. The "deceased" designation on a prior year return is simply informational. It tells the IRS that as of the filing date, this taxpayer is deceased. It doesn't impact the calculation of taxes or filing status for that return - it just helps with administrative tracking. The IRS uses this information to update their records and handle future correspondence appropriately.

My wife passed in 2023 and I'm still figuring all of this out. One thing no one mentioned here - make sure you get multiple certified copies of the death certificate (like 15+). You'll need them for EVERYTHING - bank accounts, investment accounts, property transfers, insurance, and sometimes for tax purposes too.