You can only file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower for the two years after the year in which your spouse died. If you do not remarry in the third year after your spouses death, you are considered single. You will need to use the Single filing status unless you qualify to file as Head of Household.

Is widow a marital status?

“Divorced” indicates people who reported being divorced and had not remarried. “Widowed” indicates people whose last marriage ended with the death of their spouse and they had not remarried. The term “Never married” applies to those who had never been legally married or people whose only marriage ended in an annulment.