If both the taxpayer and spouse are deceased, the name and date of death for both will appear at the top of the federal return.

To enter the death of a taxpayer or spouse in TaxAct^®:

1. From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal. On smaller devices, click in the upper left-hand corner, then click Federal.
2. Click Basic Information in the Federal Quick Q&A Topics menu to expand, then click Taxpayer or spouse deceased.
3. On the screen titled Deceased, enter or select the date of death for either the taxpayer or the spouse, then click Continue.
4. TaxAct will print "Deceased," the name of the decedent, and the date of death at the top of Form 1040.

The surviving spouse or personal representative should promptly notify all payers of income, including financial institutions, of the taxpayer's death. This will ensure the proper reporting of income earned by the taxpayer's estate or heirs. A deceased taxpayer’s social security number should not be used for tax years after the year of death, except for estate tax return purposes.

Generally, a person who is filing a return for a decedent and claiming a refund must file Form 1310 Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer with the return. If you are a court-appointed representative, you must paper file the return in order to attach a copy of the certificate that shows your appointment.

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.