The PAW Act of 2025 extends the period an individual can be classified as a surviving spouse for tax purposes from two to five taxable years following the death of their spouse.
Jefferson Van Drew
Representative
NJ-2
The PAW Act of 2025, or Protect American Widows Act, amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the definition of "surviving spouse" for tax purposes. This legislation removes the previous two-year limit, allowing individuals to qualify as a surviving spouse for up to five taxable years following the death of their spouse. This change aims to provide extended tax benefits to surviving spouses starting with tax years after December 31, 2024.
PAW Act Extends 'Surviving Spouse' Tax Status from Two to Five Years, Starting 2025
The Protect American Widows Act of 2025 (PAW Act) is making a significant, if technical, change to how the IRS treats surviving spouses when it comes to tax filing. Essentially, this legislation is buying people time during one of the toughest seasons of their lives.
The Filing Status Lifeline
Right now, if your spouse passes away, the IRS allows you to file as a “surviving spouse” for a limited time. This status is important because it often grants you more favorable tax brackets and standard deductions than filing as single or even head of household, essentially letting you keep more of your money. Under current law (Section 2(a)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code), that benefit only lasts for two taxable years after the year of death. The PAW Act changes this by extending that window from two years to five taxable years.
If you're busy juggling work, kids, and trying to manage a household after a major loss, the last thing you need is a sudden, complicated tax hike. This change means that if a spouse passes away in 2025, the survivor could potentially use the favorable surviving spouse status through the 2030 tax year. This provision takes effect for tax returns filed for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024.
What This Means for Your Wallet
Think of this as an extended financial grace period. For many people, the years following a spouse’s death involve major financial adjustments—re-evaluating retirement plans, potentially selling a home, or adjusting to a single income. By extending the favorable tax status, the bill offers crucial breathing room. For example, a surviving spouse who might have been forced into a less advantageous single-filer status after two years, now gets three extra years to utilize the higher standard deduction and lower tax rates associated with the surviving spouse status. This could easily translate into thousands of dollars saved during a period of intense transition.
This is a clear, low-vagueness change that directly benefits surviving spouses by giving them more time to stabilize their finances before facing the full tax burden of single-filer status. While the IRS will have to make administrative adjustments to their forms and systems, for the everyday taxpayer, this is simply an expansion of a benefit designed to ease the financial strain during a difficult time.