AmicableDivorce finalized in November. So 11 months of the year we were married (filing jointly) and our W4's reflects that. Should we file jointly for this final year?

[Opus 17]

If you are legally divorced  (unmarried)  as of December 31, 2024, you must file as an unmarried status. That is either single, or head of household if meet the other qualifications.  There is no way to file as married or single for part of the year.  You must file based on your status as of 12/31, regardless of what your W-4 says.  After all, the W-4 is only a method of estimating the correct withholding so that you will come out more or less even at the end of the year, and has no force if your actual facts are different.  

It is of course possible, that in some marriages, the withholding would be unbalanced, with most of the taxes coming from spouse A and very little from spouse B.  This could create an imbalance when it comes to filing your tax returns— if you are the spouse who did not have withholding, you might owe a larger than expected tax bill when you file your return.  This is something that ideally would have been addressed in your divorce, possibly with the assistance of a tax advisor.

[xmasbaby0]

No. Your W-4's do not dictate how you file your tax return; those do not go to the IRS.  W-4's only go to your employers to tell them how much to withhold from your paychecks.

 If you were divorced before the end of 2024, you cannot file a joint return.   Your marital status for tax purposes is determined by the last day of the tax year.   If you got married or divorced even on December 31, that is the marital status you use for the full year for your tax return.     You will each file as Single, or if one of you has been the custodial parent of the children, one of you might be able to file as Head of Household.  You have not mentioned whether you have children.

Do not try to use the same account you have used in the past for joint returns to prepare new 2024 returns with your new filing status.  It is too difficult and messy to remove the "spouse stuff" from the return.  Start a new account with a new user ID if you are using online TurboTax.

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.

[samfishfunk]

Thank you - I am still confused on the benefits of filing as HOH. 

Our child was with me all year (he's 4). And I pay for my rent with no assistance.

[xmasbaby0]

@samfishfunk The standard deduction---which makes less of your income taxable---is higher for HOH than it is for filing Single.  

Your standard deduction lowers your taxable income. The standard deduction makes some of your income “tax free.”  It is not a refund.  You will see your standard or itemized deduction amount on line 12 of your 2024 Form 1040.

2024 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS

SINGLE $14,600    (65 or older/legally blind + $1950)

MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $14,600    (65 or older/legally blind + $1550)

MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $29,200    (65 or older/legally blind + $1550)

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD $21,900    (65 or older/legally blind + $1950)

[Mike9241]

other benefits for qualifying as HOH. lower income taxes on income than if filing as single. You may be entitled to certain tax credits that you wouldn't qualify for if filing as single.