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June 1, 2019
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I am married but have been separated for ten months. Do I still have to file as married or can I file as single?

  • June 1, 2019
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Best answer by bwa

If you are not divorced on the last day of the tax year, your filing status choices are

  • Married filing jointly,
  • Married filing separately,
  • Or, if you qualify, Head of Household.  You are considered unmarried for HOH if you lived apart from your spouse for the entire last 1/2 of the year, You provide more than 1/2 of the cost of maintaining a residence for you and a qualifying relative and you have a qualifying relative (such as your child) living with you for more than 1/2 of the year . If the child is your qualifying child, you do not need to claim them as a dependent.

You cannot file as a single person unless you meet the strict definition of "legally separated" under a court decree, and your state recognizes legal separation


1 reply

bwaAnswer
Employee
June 1, 2019

If you are not divorced on the last day of the tax year, your filing status choices are

  • Married filing jointly,
  • Married filing separately,
  • Or, if you qualify, Head of Household.  You are considered unmarried for HOH if you lived apart from your spouse for the entire last 1/2 of the year, You provide more than 1/2 of the cost of maintaining a residence for you and a qualifying relative and you have a qualifying relative (such as your child) living with you for more than 1/2 of the year . If the child is your qualifying child, you do not need to claim them as a dependent.

You cannot file as a single person unless you meet the strict definition of "legally separated" under a court decree, and your state recognizes legal separation