Lakeville Area Community Education

Have you ever heard this quote from Ben Franklin, “The only thing certain in life are death and taxes”? I think most people would agree it still rings true a few hundred years later. While you may want to avoid one, there’s certainly no avoiding the other. Death and taxes. That’s what we’re here to talk about today. Your taxes could go up when a spouse dies—even if your income goes down. This so-called “widow’s penalty” is surprisingly common. And, unfortunately, the penalty affects more than taxes.