It is important for taxpayers to know their correct filing status. Please refer to the IRS ITA Tool - What is my filing status to help determine your filing status if you need assistance.
There are five filing statuses:
- Single - Normally, this status is for taxpayers who are unmarried, divorced or legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree governed by state law.
- Married filing jointly - If a taxpayer is married, they can file a joint tax return with their spouse. When a spouse passes away, the widowed spouse can usually file a joint return for that year.
- Married filing separately - Married couples can choose to file separate tax returns. When doing so, it may result in less tax owed than filing a joint tax return.
- Head of household - Unmarried taxpayers may be able to file using this status, but special rules apply. For example, the taxpayer must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for themselves and a qualifying person living in the home for half the year.
- Qualifying widow or widower with dependent child - This status may apply to a taxpayer if their spouse died during one of the previous two years and they have a dependent child. Other conditions also apply.
Additional IRS resources: