To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand the surviving spouse filing status to individuals whose spouses have died within the last five taxable years.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
Extends the federal surviving spouse filing status from the current two taxable years after a spouse's death to five taxable years for returns beginning after December 31, 2024.
Who Benefits and How
Widows and widowers could keep the more favorable surviving spouse filing status for three additional years, potentially lowering federal income-tax liability during a longer adjustment period.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal tax revenues could fall from the extended preferential filing treatment, and tax administrators would need to apply the longer eligibility window.
Key Provisions
- Changes the Internal Revenue Code surviving spouse filing-status window from two taxable years to five taxable years.
- Applies the change to returns filed for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Extends the federal surviving spouse filing status from the current two taxable years after a spouse's death to five taxable years for returns beginning after December 31, 2024.
Key Policy Areas
Tax, Family Policy
Primary Purpose
Extends the federal surviving spouse filing status from the current two taxable years after a spouse's death to five taxable years for returns beginning after December 31, 2024.
Policy Domains
Main Provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Widowed taxpayers eligible for the surviving spouse filing status
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal tax revenues and tax administrators implementing the longer eligibility period
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Van Drew (for himself, Ms. Hageman, and Mr. Gosar) …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Widowed taxpayers eligible to use the surviving spouse filing status for three additional taxable years
Federal revenues affected by the longer preferential filing-status treatment
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology