Me and estranged spouse live in nj and there is no such thing as a legal separation in nj...i have not lived with him for years. how can i file...he will be itemizing

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1 Best answer

Alumni

Jun 5, 2019 2:18:48 PM

If you are not divorced on the last day of the tax year, your filing status choices are

Married filing jointly,
Married filing separately,
Or, if you qualify, Head of Household. You are considered unmarried for HOH if you lived apart from your spouse for the entire last 1/2 of the year, You provide more than 1/2 of the cost of maintaining a residence for you and a qualifying relative and you have a qualifying relative (such as your child) living with you for more than 1/2 of the year . If the child is your qualifying child, you do not need to claim them as a dependent.

If you meet the definition of Head of Household, you don't have to itemize deductions if you don't want to.

Alumni

Jun 5, 2019 2:18:48 PM

If you are not divorced on the last day of the tax year, your filing status choices are

Married filing jointly,
Married filing separately,
Or, if you qualify, Head of Household. You are considered unmarried for HOH if you lived apart from your spouse for the entire last 1/2 of the year, You provide more than 1/2 of the cost of maintaining a residence for you and a qualifying relative and you have a qualifying relative (such as your child) living with you for more than 1/2 of the year . If the child is your qualifying child, you do not need to claim them as a dependent.

If you meet the definition of Head of Household, you don't have to itemize deductions if you don't want to.