Marriage status

[oct75212]

Marriage status

[jerry2000]

Please ask a complete question. What is your question about marriage status?

[oct75212]

Just want to make sure I filed correctly I put down married and want to file separate. So at the end I reviewed my tax forms and it has me down as head of household

[oct75212]

I didn't see the box checked for married filing separate

[oct75212]

Ok thanks yes very helpful

[jerry2000 · Accepted solution]

If you were legally married as of 12/31/2016, your choices are Married Filing Jointly, if your spouse agrees,  or Married Filing Separately, unless you meet the qualifications to be "considered unmarried", in which case you could file as Head of Household. The requirements are:

Considered Unmarried
To qualify for head of household status, you must be either unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests

1. You file a separate return

2. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.

3. Your spouse did not live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your
spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances.

4. Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year.

5. You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. (There are some exceptions to this rule, see IRS Pub 17, Chapter 2 and 3) You can find Pub 17 at this link
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

[Luisin29]

Can we file as married filling joint for tax year 22 if our divorce was finalized on October of year 22? 

[Critter-3]

NO ... if you were no longer married on 12/31/22 then you CANNOT file jointly on a 2022 return. You would file single or head of household if you qualify.