If you are not legally married as of December 31, 2024, you cannot file married filing jointly or married filing separately. To change your filing status, please go into your Personal Info section and select the correct filing status.
If you are legally married as of December 31, 2024, you have three filing status options you can file:
- You can file Married filing Jointly. However, in order to do this, you'll need to obtain an ITIN for your spouse by submitting Form W-7 with your tax return. You must also submit an election to your return indicating that you wish to file jointly and wish to treat your spouse as a US resident for tax purposes. If filing this way, you must file by mail.
- You can file Married filing Separately. Under this status, you won't include your wife's income and your standard deduction will be lower. If you choose to file this way, you must enter NRA in the field of your spouse's social security number and you will also have to file by mail.
- You can file as Head as Household if your spouse does not get treated as a US resident for tax purposes, and you pay more than half the cost of maintaining a household for qualified individuals.