Updated July 29, 2026. Quick answer: You may. IRC §6013(a)(2) permits a joint return where the taxable years differ “because of the death of either or both”, and §6013(a)(3) lets the survivor make it alone in defined circumstances. It is also the last such year. And because §2(b)(2)(C) treats you as married at year end, head of household is not available in the year of death either.
The three-stage sequence
| Year | Status |
|---|---|
| Year of death | Joint — and head of household is blocked |
| Next two years | §2(a) surviving spouse, but only with a qualifying dependent child |
| After that | Single, or head of household under §2(b) if you qualify |
So the year of death is a planning window, and it is the widest one you will get. Joint brackets and the joint standard deduction still apply for the whole year even though the death occurred partway through it. Anything that accelerates income into that year — a Roth conversion, realising gains, taking a larger distribution — is being done at joint rates for the last time.
What makes the window awkward
It closes on 31 December of the year someone died, which is rarely when anyone wants to be making tax decisions. That is a real and uncomfortable tension, and it is the reason this is better discussed before it is needed than after.
The transition is sharper than most people expect, because the brackets halve while the income does not.
Every dollar figure in this area is indexed and none is quoted here. The rate-schedule thresholds, the standard deduction, the estate exclusion and the IRMAA tiers all move annually, and two of them move on their own separate schedules. Take current figures from the IRS or the Social Security Administration for the year in question.
Sources
IRC §1(j)(2)(A) and (j)(2)(C); §2(a) and §2(b); §6013(a); §63(c)(2), (c)(7) and (f)(3); §121(a), (b)(2)(A) and (b)(4); §72(t)(2)(A); Treas. Reg. §1.408-8(c); §408(d)(3)(C); §2010(c)(5)(A); Rev. Proc. 2022-32; 42 U.S.C. §402(k)(3)(A) and §1395r(i); 20 C.F.R. §418.1201 and §418.1205. All read July 2026.
This states what the cited authority says. It is not tax advice, and retirement-plan design turns on facts about your business and your other entities that no page can see. Every dollar limit referenced here is indexed and changes annually.