Surviving Spouse E-File

[Chowdahead]

I've completed my first return for a surviving spouse.  Husband died in July 2014.  I have marriage and death certificates. He had about $19,000 in W-2 wages.  Wife was a homemaker.  They have two kids.

 

I looked up some procedural issues on the IRS website but as usual it's information overload.  All i want to know are two things.

 

1.  Can this return be e-filed?  If so, does she sign for the PIN on the e-file authorization?  Is there any way to indicate on the return that the husband died during the tax year.  I entered "Deceased" in the occupation box.  Is there another box to check?

 

2.  She wants to use Fee Collect, which requires both signatures.  Can she also sign for both authorizations for Fee Collect?

[Lynn EA USTCP in Louisiana]

Are you using ATX? If yes, pull up their form 1040, at the bottom are tabs = click on 'filers information' and enter the taxpayers date of death (just below his date of birth).  That should set the efile forms so that surviving spouse signs taxpayers signature as surviving spouse.  In occupation I place 'deceased'.  The 1040 should print the deceased date of death when you print the copies.  I always try to efile it.  Sometimes they go through and sometimes they don't.  I don't do fee collect (had too many problems with it so d/c'd it) so can't answer that question.

[Janitor Bob]

What Lynn said...I have never had a problem e-filing any...and unfortuantely, have had quite a few.

[Cathy]

Just e-filed a MFJ (Filing as Surviving Spouse) for 2013.  Had every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed.  It REJECTED because Social Security told IRS that the Primary taxpayer on the return was deceased......duh?.....EXACTLY and they were informed of the day he died also!  

 

Hope it was because of the 2013 situation.....it's funny how IRS goes from one extreme to the other!  As Social Security is one of the first entities that is notified of deaths (especially older clients), hope they don't start rejecting the current filing year also....have to wait and see...guess it depends on how long the person has been dead.

 

[Lion EA]

In the past, IIRC we could efile when the DOD was the tax year but not if the DOD was the filing year (2015 when a 2014 return).  But, last year SSA started freezing deceased taxpayers files in some cases as a preventive measure against identity theft, or whatever.  I always try efiling, but warn the spouse or rep that they might need to mail it in.  Frustrating.

[FreedomTaxed]

In 2 years and 3 tax seasons I've never seen a problem e-filing a deceased client.

[Lion EA]

I've had only two reject, a couple of years apart, with reject codes reading something like DOD cannot be current year.  Maybe it had to do with how often the SSA updates their database.

[Chowdahead]

Are you using ATX? If yes, pull up their form 1040, at the bottom are tabs = click on 'filers information' and enter the taxpayers date of death (just below his date of birth).  That should set the efile forms so that surviving spouse signs taxpayers signature as surviving spouse.  In occupation I place 'deceased'.  The 1040 should print the deceased date of death when you print the copies.  I always try to efile it.  Sometimes they go through and sometimes they don't.  I don't do fee collect (had too many problems with it so d/c'd it) so can't answer that question.

 

Yes, I am on ATX.  I do remember seeing that DOD box a year or two ago but at the time I didn't have a need to use it and now that I need to use it I couldn't find it...go figure.  Even funnier is that it is located right under the date-of-birth box which I obviously look at every day!

 

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!  Hopefully the f-file goes through.  I'll look some more into the Fee Collection option. 

[Cathy]

Chowdahead,

 

Will you please share with us whether this e-file was accepted or not, and the month of the death?

 

Thanks,

 

Cathy