topic My husband and I have been separated for over a year. I will claim our kid's as he has no legal rights to them. Do I still have to file as married? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

My husband and I have been separated for over a year. I will claim our kid's as he has no legal rights to them. Do I still have to file as married?

chrissy10272009 — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:13:43 GMT

We went to court for custody and a restraining order also. They were both granted in my favor.

Re: My husband and I have been separated for over a year. I will claim our kid's as he has no legal rights to them. Do I still have to file as married?

DoninGA — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:32:02 GMT

If you are still legally married but have not lived with your spouse at any time during the last six months of the year you can be eligible for Head of Household filing status.

In the My Info section of the program you still need to indicate Married but not filing with your spouse. This will trigger the TurboTax program to ask you questions to verify that you are eligible for Head of Household.

Re: My husband and I have been separated for over a year. I will claim our kid's as he has no legal rights to them. Do I still have to file as married?

xmasbaby0 — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:34:41 GMT

If you have been separated for at least the last six months of 2023 and you have physical custody of the children, you should file as Head of Household. Your spouse will have to file MFS.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.