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posted Feb 25, 2020 8:13:10 AM

I've been divorced for almost 20 years, do I file as divorced or am I single?

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5 Replies
Level 15
Feb 25, 2020 8:13:55 AM

You are just Single.  Divorced is not a filing status.

Level 1
Mar 14, 2020 12:19:42 PM

@VolvoGirl  you are wrong - "Divorced" is a filing status and TruboTax software provides you with that choice:

 

I have the same question and would like to receive an answer from somebody competent.... Am I single or divorced, if my divorce happened a few years ago (not in the year I'm filing taxes for)?

Level 15
Mar 14, 2020 12:23:33 PM

When you look further you will see that on your Form 1040 "divorced" is not one of the filing status categories.  The question appears in the software to guide you to the correct status to put on your actual tax form-- it asks the questions in order to determine if you should file as Single or Head of Household.    Look at a Form 1040.  Do you see "Divorced" as a filing status?

 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf

Level 15
Mar 14, 2020 12:26:25 PM

@Jenia wrote:

@VolvoGirl  you are wrong - "Divorced" is a filing status and TruboTax software provides you with that choice:

 

I have the same question and would like to receive an answer from somebody competent.... Am I single or divorced, if my divorce happened a few years ago (not in the year I'm filing taxes for)?

Divorced in TurboTax is just to determine what type of questions should be asked concerning when you were divorced and whether or not you have dependent children or receive spousal support among other reasons.

It is NOT a Filing Status.  If you were not legally married as of 12/31/2019 then you file as Single.

 

IRS Publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information page 5 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page=5

There are five filing statuses.
• Single.
• Married Filing Jointly.
• Married Filing Separately.
• Head of Household.
• Qualifying Widow(er).

Level 1
Mar 14, 2020 1:43:12 PM

@DoninGA  thank you for your extended answer.  You are correct from the IRS standpoint.

However, this question is posted in TurboTax forum for a reason. And the reason is that TurboTax provides that screen (that I posted in my previous post)  and choosing incorrect option may lead to not getting some questions from software related to dependent's information (if I were to choose "Single" instead of "Divorced").

Bottom line... giving an answer "divorced, is not a filing status" does not answer a question that is posed by TurboTax users at all -  "which of the available in TT options do I need to select". So why bother with that answer? when it's not helpful?

I eventually found my answer in another Question of this forum...