My ex-husband and I are legally separated. The separation agreement was signed in July 2016. We were married for 7 months, separate for 5. What filing status do I claim?

[casey-l-mars]

Can he claim me as a dependent? He paid spousal support from July until October. Prior to July, my finances were paid from our joint account.

[IreneS · Accepted solution]

If your spouse did not live in the home during the last six months of the tax year you can be "considered unmarried" for tax purposes.  You will be able to use a filing status of Single or Head of Household (if you have dependents), which are usually more beneficial tax wise.

Otherwise, you would file "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately" If you are married and file separately, you both must itemize your deductions on each of your returns, or both of you must take the standard deduction.

No - Your husband cannot claim you as a dependent.  The spousal support he paid will be taxable income to you and a deduction for him on his return.

If you received alimony, enter it into TurboTax following these steps:

1. Click on Federal Taxes > Wages & Income.  [In TT Self-Employed: Personal > Personal Income > I’ll choose what I work on.]
2. Scroll down to the Less Common Income section and click on the Start/Revisit box next to Alimony Received.  
3. On the Did you receive alimony or spousal support? screen, click on the Yes box.
4. On the next screen enter the total alimony or spousal support you received.  

[Edited | 4/15/2020 | 5:26pm PDT]