domestic violence

[roseberrytea]

This is my first time filing taxes. I've been separated from abusive husband for 2 years. I know that he owns a house that he intentionally bought with gift money from his father so that it is not considered marital property. I want to file but I don't know what he filed. I don't know if he itemized or did standard deduction. I also don't know if he claimed homeowner property tax exemption, and I can't find out. What should I do? Can I file an injured spouse form or something?

[Anonymous]

not sure what state you live in which may matter if you live in a community property state.  in that case you may need the help of a lawyer.

then ignore the following

regardless of which of the following  returns you file you only report your own income. 

if married filing separate to e file you'll need his social security number.   without it you'll have to paper file and include a letter explaining why you couldn't get it and his name and address.   if you can't find out whether he itemized or not you'll have to guess.  the safe method would be the one that produces the lowest deduction. if you guess wrong the iRS will correct your return or ask you to amend

if you pay more than 1/2 of the cost of keeping up a home for yourself and your child who lived with you for more than 1/2 the year you can file as head of household.  don't need spouse's info and you can let TT choose the higher of standard or itemized ddeductions.   you can also efile