What filing status can i use

Typically, unmarried people who paid more than half the cost to keep up a home for the year and provided most or all the support for at least one other person for more than half the year. It's not arbitrary. In the eyes of the IRS, this tax filing status is only for unmarried people who have to support others. There are rules about being unmarried. The cost of keeping up a home includes the property taxes, mortgage interest or rent, utilities, repairs and maintenance, property insurance, food and other household expenses.

Learn how it'll affect your taxes. There are rules about kids. In some situations, your siblings and in-laws also count if you provide at least half their support. Be sure to read IRS Publication 17 for specifics. This filing status gets you bigger tax deductions and more favorable tax brackets than if you just filed single. You have time. Then, for the next two years you can use the qualified widow or widower status if you have a dependent child. The kids are key. You also have to provide more than half of the cost of keeping up the house during the tax year.

The qualified widow or widower status lets you file as if you were married filing jointly. That gets you a much higher standard deduction and better tax bracket situation than if you filed as single. You file together. You are considered unmarried for the entire Tax Year if, on December 31, any of the following was true:. Innocent Spouse: If you file as MFJ both individuals are equally responsible for all taxes owed if there is a balance due.

This is also called joint and several tax liability, as a married filing jointly couple is liable for taxes even if the additional taxes are the result of income, deductions, or credits of a spouse or former spouse. Thus, you might want to consider the Innocent Spouse consideration if you think your current their spouse or former spouse should only be held responsible for all or part of the tax liabilities, penalties and interest.

Injured Spouse: If you prepared and filed or e-Filed a married filing joint income tax return and if one spouse is not responsible for the current or past debt's of the other spouse, then the spouse might be entitled to request his or her portion of the IRS tax refund back from the IRS in case the IRS has offset the tax refund to pay the spouse's debt.

In that case, consider the Injured Spouse option. Find out your filing status in case your spouse deceased during the tax year: Qualifying Widow er. You may file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower for the two years following the year of your spouse's death if you support a dependent child.

No matter what your filing status, eFile. We will apply all of the correct rates and amounts based on your filing status. You enter the information, and we do all the math for you. Use any of the other free tax estimator and tax calculator tools that help you find answers to your personal questions.

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If you answered "Yes" to the first question you were married on December 31 , then you cannot file as Single unless you were legally separated. If you were married and not legally separated on December 31, you will need to use one of the married filing statuses Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.

If you answered "Yes" to the second question you do qualify for another filing status , then you can file as Single, but you may get a bigger tax refund or owe less taxes if you use another filing status on your tax return. For tax purposes, your marital status for the entire year is determined by your marital status on the last day of the year. If you were unmarried, divorced, or legally separated according to state law on December 31, then you are considered "not married" or unmarried for the whole year.

If you were married and not legally separated on December 31, then you are considered married for the whole year. There is an exception for widows and widowers: If your spouse died during the year, you may still file as Married Filing Jointly for that year. For the next two years, you may qualify to file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower.

You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.

A qualifying person lived with you in the home for more than half the year except temporary absences, such as school. However, your dependent parent does not have to live with you. If your spouse died in , you can use married filing jointly as your filing status for if you otherwise qualify to use that status.

The year of death is the last year for which you can file jointly with your deceased spouse. You may be eligible to use qualifying widow er with dependent child as your filing status for two years following the year of death of your spouse.

For example, if your spouse died in , and you have not remarried, you may be able to use this filing status for and This filing status entitles you to use joint return tax rates and the highest standard deduction amount if you do not itemize deductions. This status does not entitle you to file a joint return. Hand out Fact Sheet-Filing Status. Use the following question to prompt students to share their knowledge of filing status:.

Note: For students who may want to work independently on this module, refer them to Student Lesson-Filing Status. Direct students to Tax Tutorial-Filing Status , and explain that this tax tutorial focuses on filing statuses. Tell students that they will learn how different filing statuses affect the tax liability. Also, they will learn how to choose the appropriate filing status for the taxpayer's circumstances.

Inform students that taxpayers may be eligible to claim more than one filing status.