Sergio's Filing Status for 2022 After the Passing of Malena

Sergio's Tax Filing Situation

Sergio and Malena were married for 10 years before Malena unexpectedly passed away in 2021. Sergio has a qualifying child dependent, Tomas (age 6), who lived with him all year. Sergio pays all the cost of maintaining the home for himself and Tomas. Sergio has not remarried. In 2021, Sergio filed his tax return as married filing jointly.

Filing Status Question

Provided Sergio does not remarry by December 31 of the current tax year, what is Sergio's correct and most favorable filing status for 2022?

a) Single.
b) Married filing separately.
c) Qualifying surviving spouse.
d) Head of household.

Final answer:

Sergio's most favorable filing status for 2022 is Qualifying surviving spouse, provided he remains unmarried, as it allows similar tax benefits to married filing jointly and he has a qualifying child. Option c is the answer.

Explanation:

The correct and most favorable filing status for Sergio in 2022, assuming he does not remarry by December 31st of the current tax year, is c) Qualifying surviving spouse. This status applies to a taxpayer who has a dependent child and whose spouse passed away in the last two years. It allows the taxpayer to use the same tax benefits as if they were filing jointly. Since Sergio's spouse passed away in 2021, and he has a qualifying child dependent, Tomas, who lived with him all year, he meets the criteria for this filing status for 2022.