The law authorizes a special filing break for some widows and widowers. They are entitled to the benefit of joint-return rates for two years after their mate dies.
Don’t overlook this tax trimmer for surviving spouses if your spouse died in 1990 or 1991 and you have a dependent child. To reap the benefit of this break, just check the box for “qualifying widow(er) with dependent child” on Line 5 of Form 1040 or Form 1040A (it’s unavailable on Form 1040EZ, the shortest version of the tax return).
By way of background, the death of your spouse bars you from filing a joint return, unless you have remarried. Nor are you allowed to claim the personal exemption for your spouse as you are on a joint return. Nevertheless, you still might be able to figure your 1992 tax using the rates for a joint filer, which are lower than for a single person or a head of household.
To qualify as a surviving spouse and use joint-return rates for 1992, you must meet these four requirements:
1. You did not remarry before Jan. 1, 1993.
2. For the year in which your spouse died, you were entitled to file jointly with him or her, whether you actually filed that way or not.
3. During all of 1992, your home is the principal residence of your child, adopted child, stepchild or foster child whom you can claim as a dependent. Your home need not be in the same location for the entire year.
Tip: In determining whether your child lived in your home, you are allowed to ignore temporary absences by your son or daughter because of vacations, sickness, school or military service. But you do become disqualified if your child moves out permanently before the year ends or fails to qualify as your dependent.
4. You furnish more than half the cost of maintaining your home. In calculating the cost, note the instructions that accompany Form 1040. You are allowed to count such items as rent, property insurance, real estate taxes, mortgage interest, upkeep, repairs, utilities, telephone, domestic help and food consumed within the home.
Caution: Do not count the cost of clothing, education, medical treatment, vacations, life insurance, transportation or the value of work done in the home by you or your child. Nor are you allowed to count the rental value of a home you provide for your child, even though you do count its value in determining whether you contribute over half the child’s total support for the year and are entitled to an exemption.
Tip: Another break is that the standard deduction is higher for a surviving spouse than for someone with the filing status of single or head of household-$6,000 versus $3,600 or $5,520.
All is not lost if you fail to qualify during 1992 as a surviving spouse who can use the joint-return rates. You still may be able to avoid the single-person rates and use the more favorable ones for a head of household. The head-of-household rates fall about halfway between those for joint filers and those for singles. If you are no longer eligible for treatment as a surviving spouse but you remain unmarried and your child lives with you, you may qualify as a head of household even if you are ineligible to claim an exemption for your child.
