Unless you qualify for another tax filing status, you'll usually file as Single in the year after your spouse dies. After someone with a filing requirement passes away, their surviving spouse or representative should file the deceased person's final tax return.Qualifying Surviving Spouse is for people who have recently lost a spouse and are supporting a dependent child. For the two years following the year of death, the surviving spouse may be able to use the Qualifying Widow(er) filing status. To claim the status, you'll need to provide your spouse's name, SSN, and date of death. Surviving spouses must provide proof of age of the survivor and proof of death of the deceased spouse. Disabled Person (or Surviving Spouse) Exemption. The qualifying surviving spouse filing status gives you the same standard deduction and tax rates as you had when you filed jointly with your spouse. The spouse's death occurred in one of the two years prior to the year of your filing and no remarriage has occurred. Bexar County Probate Court No. 3.