Determining Your Filing Status

Determining the correct filing status for your tax return is a very important part in completing your tax return as it determines your tax rate as well as limits for certain credits and deductions. There are five filing status categories: married filing joint return, married filing separately, unmarried, surviving spouse and head of household.

Any individual who is unmarried at the end of the tax year may file as a single taxpayer. A single taxpayer qualifies as a surviving spouse during the two tax years following the death of the taxpayers's spouse, if the taxpayer and spouse were eligible to file a joint return in the year of the spouse's death, the taxpayer maintains a household that is the home for the taxpayer and a child who is the taxpayer's dependent, and the taxpayer does not remarry. Tax brackets for a surviving spouse are generally more favorable than tax brackets for single taxpayers. A single taxpayer who is not a surviving spouse may qualify as a head of household if the taxpayer pays at least half the costs of maintaining a home for one or more qualifying individuals, including children, parents and other relatives. Tax brackets for a head of household are generally more favorable than tax brackets for single taxpayers, but generally less favorable than tax brackets for a surviving spouse.

Taxpayers who are married at the end of the tax year under applicable state or local law are generally treated as married for tax purposes. A common law union is recognized for federal tax purposes if it is a valid marriage in the state where it was entered into, but marriages or other arrangements between same-sex partners cannot be marriages for federal purposes. A legally married taxpayer who lives apart from a spouse may be able to file as a single taxpayer or a head of household. A valid divorce or annulment terminates the marriage and returns the taxpayers to single filing status. Most married taxpayers may elect whether to file joint returns or separate returns. Most couples will pay less overall tax if they file joint returns, but separate returns are advantageous in some unusual circumstances.

A joint return generally may not be filed if either the husband or the wife at any time during the tax year is a nonresident alien. However, if a nonresident alien, for all or part of the year, is married to a U.S. citizen or resident, and both spouses elect to treat the nonresident alien as a resident of the United States for the entire tax year, they may file a joint return for that tax year and subsequent tax years.

Should you have any questions regarding your filing status, please contact our office at (214) 827-9118 to schedule an appointment.

IRS CIRCULAR 230 REQUIRED NOTICE
IRS Regulations require that we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended to be used and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or for the purpose of promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or tax-related matter.