Filing Single, Filing Married
Your filing status must be decided before you can calculate your correct tax, deductions,
and filing requirements. Your income tax filing status generally can be divided
between being unmarried and being married, which is determined by your status on
the last day of the tax year, December 31. There are five filing options however,
each with their own specific qualifications and consequences for calculating your
taxes and the taxes of dependents.
The Five Tax Filing Status Options Are:
- Single. This will generally apply to anyone who is unmarried, divorced,
or legally separated according to your state law.
- Married Filing Jointly. A married couple may file a joint return
together. If your spouse died during the year, you may still file a joint return
with that spouse for the tax year of death.
- Married Filing Separately.
A married couple may elect to file their returns separately.
- Head of
Household. This generally applies to taxpayers who are unmarried. You must
also have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for you and a qualifying
person to qualify for this tax filing status.
- Qualifying Widow(er) with
Dependent Child. You may be able to choose this tax filing status if your
spouse died during the previous two income tax years, you have a dependent child,
and you meet certain other conditions.
How to Determine Your Marriage Status
Your marriage status, especially if a dramatic change took place during the tax
year, can be difficult to determine. Here is a list of qualifications that may clarify
the situation.
You are considered married for the whole tax year (from January
1 to December 31) if:
- You are living together as husband and wife and legally married
- You are
living together as husband and wife in a common law marriage that is recognized
by the state or the state in which the common law marriage was enacted.
- You
are legally married but living apart but have not made any action to legalize your
separation.
- You are separated under an interlocutory decree of divorce.
-
Your spouse died during the tax year, by December 31. You can file a joint return
with your deceased spouse if you did not remarry during the same tax year in which
your spouse died. If you did remarry that tax year, before December 31 of the same
tax year, you must file your spouse’s tax return as married filing separately
and you may filed as married with your new spouse.
If you were married during the current income tax year, up to and including December
31, visit here to learn about the important tax ramifications of marriage. !?!embed
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You are considered unmarried for the whole tax year if:
- You are legally separated or divorced (deciding to separate does
not qualify you for legal separation, though you may meet certain qualifications
that would qualify you as unmarried).
- Your final divorce decree has been processed
by the last day of the tax year.
- You obtain a court decree of annulment, stating
that no valid marriage ever existed, even if you have filed as married in previous
years.
Filing Status for Unmarried Persons
There are three different filing statuses for unmarried persons.
Single
You must file as single if you are unmarried, divorced, separated on the last day
of the tax year and you do not qualify for any other filing status. If you were
widowed in the previous tax year (on or before December 31), your filing status
is single unless you meet the requirements for another unmarried tax category.
Head of Household
You may qualify for Head of Household filing status if you meet the following requirements:
(1) You are unmarried on the last day of the tax year. (2) You paid for more than
half of the upkeep of your home for the entire tax year. (3) You had a qualifying
person live with you for more than half of the year. If the qualifying person (child,
parent, or other relative) is your dependent parent, he or she does not have to
live with you. See Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (publication
501) for further details on the definition of a “qualifying person”.
Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child
You may file as a Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child if you lost your spouse
in the previous three years, i.e., two years after the year in which your spouse
died. This filing status allows you to use joint return tax rates and the highest
standard deduction. You must meet the following five requirements: (1) You and your
spouse were able to file a joint return the year your spouse died. (2) Your spouse
died and you have not remarried during the two year eligibility window. (3) You
can claim an exemption for a child or stepchild (this does not include a foster
child). (4) The child lived in your home all year except for temporary absences.
(5) You more than half to the cost for upkeep of the home during the year.
Filing Status for Married Persons
If you were married during the current income tax year, up to and including December
31, visit here to learn about the important tax ramifications of marriage. There
are two straightforward filing methods for married persons.
Married Filing Jointly
You are eligible to file as Married Filing Jointly if you are married and both you
and your spouse agree to file a joint return. You can file a joint return even if
one of the persons in the marriage had no income or deductions. You may also choose
this filing status if your spouse died during the year.
Married Filing Separately
You can choose Married Filing Separately if you are married and want to be responsible
for your own tax or if the tax benefit of filing a joint return would be less than
filing separate returns.
Special rules and limits to deductions apply to different filing statuses.
Additional details about these qualifications
Filing Requirements for Dependents
As a dependent, you may still have to file a tax return. (If your gross income was
$3,500 or over, you may not be eligible to file as a dependent unless you are a
qualifying child.) You must file if you: (1) owe any special taxes, (2) received
any advance earned income credit (EIC) payments from your employer, (3) you had
net earnings from self-employment of over $400, and/or (4) you had wages of $108.28
or more from a tax exempt organization.
See Exemptions,
Standard Deduction, and Filing Information