Filing Status Quest

[6190cmg]

Massachusetts resident.  I have been legally separated for all of 2019.  Can I file as single even though divorce wasn't finalized until the end of January 2020?

[DeanM15 · Accepted solution]

If your legal separation was under a final judgement of the probate court, then yes you can. If it was not, then you cannot. 

"For MA you can file as single if, at the end of the taxable year, you were:

• Unmarried
• Legally separated under a final judgment of the probate court
• Widow or widower whose spouse dies before the beginning of the taxable year"

For Federal, the Single filing status is the "status for taxpayers who are unmarried, divorced or legally separated under a divorce or separate ma...."

[6190cmg]

That's what I thought - thank you!