My original return was filed as married; I am divorced now and would like to file a 1040X as head of household. Is that permitted? What instruction due I reference?

[gdepinet]

My original return was filed as married; I am divorced now and would like to file a 1040X as head of household. Is that permitted? What instruction due I reference?

[Critter]

On 12/31/15 were you married ?   If so did you already file a joint tax return?

[Critter]

If you have already filed a joint return then you cannot amend to file separately or as HOH.  Next year, for 2016, you can file HOH if you have a qualifying person.

[gdepinet]

The returns I need to amend are for 2013 and 2014.  Does your earlier reply still apply for 2013 and 2014 returns?  Can you ever file as HOH on a 1040X after originally filing a joint return?

[gdepinet]

On 12/31/15 I was married and filed as HOH.

[macuser_22]

When was your divorce final?

Your marital status is what you were as of the last day of the tax year (December 31 of the tax year).   If married you can only file as married or HOH but only if you had not lived with your spouse at any time during the last 6 months of the tax year AND had a child dependent that lived with you , if divorced you file as single or HOH if you have a qualifying relative dependent.

Once you have filed a joint married return it can never be amended to a different status after the due date of the return (April 15 for 2013 & 2014 and April 18, 2016 for 2015).   If a joint return was falsely filed and you were not married, you must petition the IRS to void the return - you can not amend it yourself to a different marital status.

You should consult a tax professional for assistance  if joint returns were filed when you were not married.

[Rainman12]

"What instruction due I reference?" = <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/index.html">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/index.html</...>
Has rules for changing filing status and filing HOH ...

[jerry2000 · Accepted solution]

If you were legally married as of 12/31/ of any tax year, your choices to file for that tax year are Married Filing Jointly, if your spouse agrees,  or Married Filing Separately, unless you meet the qualifications to be "considered unmarried", in which case you could file as Head of Household. The requirements are:

Considered Unmarried
To qualify for head of household status, you must be either unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests

1. You file a separate return

2. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.

3. Your spouse did not live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your
spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances.

4. Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year.

5. You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. (There are some exceptions to this rule, see IRS Pub 17, Chapter 2 and 3) You can find Pub 17 at this link
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf