Should I file as head of household, married filing separately or married filing jointly?

[bushallison]

My husband and I are dual military and are stated at two completely different posts in two different states and no time during the year did we actually live together. I live in an apartment and he lives in military barracks. All of our money is kept separate and we have paid for any of each others things. We also has a baby in 2016. Would it be best to for me to file head of household because I fully support my daughter and my husband hasn't lived with us. Or can we only file married filing separately/jointly?

[MargaretL · Accepted solution]

Your choices are to file married filing jointly or separately, but not as Head of Household. 

You must be considered "unmarried" to qualify for the Head of Household status (HOH). You are considered "married".  The reason why you don't qualify for HOH is because living apart due to military service is considered temporary absence and even though you have paid for the support, and the baby might have lived with you...you are considered married for tax purposes if one spouse doesn't live with the other due to military service.

IRS says ": You and your qualifying person are considered to live together even if one or both of you are temporarily absent from your home due to special circumstances such as illness, education, business, vacation, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility. It must be reasonable to assume the absent person will return to the home after the temporary absence. You must continue to keep up the home during the absence."