@PATAX  I was thinking the problem would be caused by listing the deceased spouse first, and I just finished a return where I did that.  But IRS must be looking at the surviving spouse in your case as a "new" taxpayer.  This reminds me of my joint-return clients with enough income to pay higher Medicare premiums.  The husband, listed first on the return, pays twice as much as the wife.  But the wife's Social Security benefits are paid under the SSN of late husband #1, and the SSA-1099 shows his SS number followed by a "D".  The decrepit IRS computers can't tell Medicare how much she really makes.