If I'm married but not living with or together with my husband do I have to claim married? Or can I file single

[bluedeb · Accepted solution]

If you are still legally married you cannot file as Single.  You can file as Married Filing Joint (even if you are not living together but both must agree), Married Filing Separate, or if you qualify Head of Household.

To qualify for the Head of Household filing status while married, you must:

• File your taxes separately from your spouse
• Pay more than half of the household expenses
• Not have lived with your spouse for the last 6 months of the year
• Provide the principle home of a qualifying dependent
• Claim an exemption for your dependent

If you meet all of these requirements, you may file as Head of Household while married.

[KarenM90]

No, you cannot file Single if you were married.

If you were married at the end of 2019 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately. 

 If you lived apart for at least the last 6 months of the year and had dependents, you may qualify for Head of Household Filing Status. Please see this article for more details:   Head of Household

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use the standard deduction.

Some other rules filing separately include:

You cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. 

A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. 

In many cases, you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit.

The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected.

If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income.

Here are some articles that will provide more details depending on your situation:  

Filing Separately in Community Property States

Better to file Jointly or Separately?