by henigan

Created on: November 16, 2008

Individuals are taxed according to filing status. There are five filing statuses: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, and qualifying widow(er) with dependent child. Your filing status is determined by whetheror not you were married on December 31.

Those who got married during the previous year are married whether they were married for one day or 350 days. Each state has different laws so in some cases, a couple who has not been officially married can use common law marriage in order to file jointly. Those who file married filing separately lose the opportunity to take advantage of several credits. It is rarely in anyone's best interest to use this status. If one spouse owes back taxes, the couple should file separatey so the other spouse will not be liable for the taxes. Those who do file separately need to check with each other. Both must use the same type of deduction, either standard or itemized.

Those who have never been married or who are divorced file either single or head of household. A couple who has been separated for the last six months of the year may file married filing jointly, married filing separately or one may file as head of household and the other single. Head of household status usually means there are dependent children, but could include other dependents. Common law marriages, where the couple have filed joint returns, are treated in the same way as marriages conducted with a ceremony.

In the year a spouse dies, the surviving spouse may file a joint return. For the next two years, that spouse may claim qualifying widow(er) with dependent child(ren) if you did not re-marry and have a dependent child or step-child. After those two years, the spouse would file as either single or head of household.

After determining the proper filing status, an individual usually claims one personal exemption for himself and one for his spouse if married filing jointly. After this, dependents are listed. Dependents include children under the age of 19, 24 if a full time student, regardless of the child's income who receive at least half of their support from you. Dependents also include relatives who may not live in the same household as you who earn less than an amount set by the IRS and receive at least half of their income from you. They include people who you support who are not related to you but have lived in your household for the entire year, except for temporary absences, such as hospital stays or school.

Agreements

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