You are considered 'married' based upon your marital status on December 31 of the tax year.
If you were unmarried on December 31, 2021, you may file:
- Single filing status,
- Head of Household filing status or
- Qualifying Widow(er) filing status.
You may be eligible to use qualifying widow(er) as your filing status for 2 years following the year your spouse died.
Eligibility rules for Qualifying Widow(er) are:
- You were entitled to file a joint return with your spouse for the year your spouse died. It doesn't matter whether you actually filed a joint return.
- Your spouse died in 2019 or 2020 and you didn't remarry before the end of 2021.
- You have a child or stepchild whom you can claim as a dependent or could claim as a dependent except that, for 2021:
- a. The child had gross income of $4,300 or more,
- b. The child filed a joint return, or
- c. You could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.
Eligibility rules for Head of Household are:
You may be able to file as Head of Household if you meet all the following requirements.
- You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. See Marital Status, earlier, and Considered Unmarried, later.
- 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 for temporary absences, such as school).
See also IRS Publication 501.
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