Federal Relief
A surviving spouse can amend past tax returns to recoup the tax liability of their deceased spouse.
A “personal representative” can amend past tax returns for decedents who filed Single, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household or Qualifying Widow(er).
There is no cap on the amount of tax dollars that the surviving spouse or personal representative can have refunded back to them.
Qualified decedents are eligible to a minimum amount of $10,000 in federal tax forgiveness under this provision. A credit is allowed on the decedent’s final year tax return for the difference between $10,000 and total tax forgiveness for all prior years.




