You are considered Married as you got married on December 31, 2016.
Your only filing options for 2016 are Married filing Jointly or Married filing Separately. You cannot file Head of Household.
You should file Married filing Jointly as this is the more advantageous option. You can claim your son as your dependent on the joint return.
If you file separately, there are special rules which make you pay more tax in most cases.
Here are the special rules:
If you choose
married filing separately as your filing status, the following special rules
apply. Because of these special rules, you usually pay more tax on a separate
return than if you use another filing status you qualify for.
- Your tax rate generally is
higher than on a joint return.
- Your exemption amount for
figuring the alternative minimum tax is half that allowed on a joint
return.
- You can't take the credit for
child and dependent care expenses in most cases, and the amount you can
exclude from income under an employer's dependent care assistance program
is limited to $2,500 (instead of $5,000 on a joint return). However, if
you are legally separated or living apart from your spouse, you may be
able to file a separate return and still take the credit. See What’s Your
Filing Status?
in Pub. 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, for more information.
- You can't take the earned
income credit.
- You can't take the exclusion
or credit for adoption expenses in most cases.
- You can't take the education
credits (the American opportunity credit and lifetime learning credit),
the deduction for student loan interest, or the tuition and fees
deduction.
- You can't exclude any
interest income from qualified U.S. savings bonds you used for higher
education expenses.
- If you lived with your spouse
at any time during the tax year:
- You can't claim
the credit for the elderly or the disabled, and
- You must include in income a
greater percentage (up to 85%) of any social security or equivalent
railroad retirement benefits you received.
- The following credits and
deductions are reduced at income levels half those for a joint return:
- The child tax
credit,
- The retirement savings
contributions credit,
- The deduction for personal
exemptions, and
- Itemized deductions.
- Your capital loss deduction
limit is $1,500 (instead of $3,000 on a joint return).
- If your spouse itemizes
deductions, you can't claim the standard deduction. If you can claim the
standard deduction, your basic standard deduction is half the amount
allowed on a joint return.
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