The Challenge: A recently widowed retiree continued to file as “Single” the year after their spouse passed away, pushing their Social Security and pension income into a higher tax bracket and causing them to owe money. The Moorhead Financials Solution: * We reviewed their tax history and corrected their filing status to “Qualifying Widow(er),” allowing them to use the much higher joint standard deduction and favorable tax brackets. The Result: The correction eliminated the taxes owed on their retirement benefits and produced a $5,200 IRS tax refund.
