wife move out since April, has about $600 income from stock dividend. Can I file as head of household? while she file as sigle? two children live with me?

[wyan2008]

she live with somebody else. we were legle married or separate. we used to file joint married.

[xmasbaby0]

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/married-person-claim-head-house...

[MinhT1]

Yes, you can file as Head of Household.

You are considered Unmarried as your spouse didn't live with you in the last 6 months of 2024.

Filing as Head of Household will result in less tax and more refund, as your income will fall in lower tax brackets and you will have a higher standard deduction.

There are conditions to satisfy in order to file as Head of household. You must:

• Pay for more than half of the household expenses
• Be considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year, and
• You must have a qualifying child or dependent.

Please read this TurboTax article for more information.

[wyan2008]

first of all, thank you sooo much!!!

another question, since I filed as HOH. does my wife fill as single? and since she only has $600 income from stock dividend, does it means she does need to file a tax return?

 sorry for more silly questions

thank again

[RobertB4444]

She can be the head of her household as well BUT she can't use the same qualifying dependent as you.  

If her only income is $600 then she is not required to file a tax return.

@wyan2008 

[VolvoGirl]

@wyan2008   She would have to file as Married filing Separate, not Single.  But if you both agree you can file a Joint return.  Joint has more benefits than HOH or MFS. and has a higher Standard Deduction.   You would  have to enter her $600 on the Joint return.

Here's some things to consider about filing separately……

In the first place you each have to file a separate return, so that's two returns. And if you are using the Online version that means using 2 accounts and paying the fees twice.

Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separate but they are probably doing it wrong. If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction, even if it is ZERO!

And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the

EITC Earned Income Tax Credit

Child Care Credit

Educational Deductions and Credits

And contributions to IRA and ROTH IRA are limited when you file MFS.

Also if you file Married Filing Separately up to 85`% of your Social Security becomes taxable right away even with zero other income.

See …….
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-...

[wyan2008]

thank you so much!

 the situation is that we do speak to each other anymore. I am thinking I filled as head of houshold. Then the only option for her is that She fill married separate? is that right?

thank you again.really apprciate

[wyan2008]

thank you so much.