Why is filing status important

You may want to prepare your taxes both ways before you choose. You can also use it if you want to be responsible only for your own tax. Head of Household.

In most cases, this status applies if you are not married, but there are some special rules. For example, you must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying person. Don't choose this status by mistake. Be sure to check all the rules.

Qualifying Widow er with Dependent Child. This status may apply to you if your spouse died during or and you have a dependent child. Determining your marital status will narrow your choices of filing status. As a general rule, your marital status on the last day of the Tax Year December 31 is your marital status for the entire Tax Year. You are considered to have been married for the entire Tax Year if, on December 31, any of the following was true:.

Learn about the tax consequences of taxes and marriage. You are considered unmarried for the entire Tax Year if, on December 31, any of the following was true:. Innocent Spouse: If you file as MFJ both individuals are equally responsible for all taxes owed if there is a balance due. This is also called joint and several tax liability, as a married filing jointly couple is liable for taxes even if the additional taxes are the result of income, deductions, or credits of a spouse or former spouse.

Thus, you might want to consider the Innocent Spouse consideration if you think your current their spouse or former spouse should only be held responsible for all or part of the tax liabilities, penalties and interest. Injured Spouse: If you prepared and filed or e-Filed a married filing joint income tax return and if one spouse is not responsible for the current or past debt's of the other spouse, then the spouse might be entitled to request his or her portion of the IRS tax refund back from the IRS in case the IRS has offset the tax refund to pay the spouse's debt.

In that case, consider the Injured Spouse option. Find out your filing status in case your spouse deceased during the tax year: Qualifying Widow er.

You may file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower for the two years following the year of your spouse's death if you support a dependent child. No matter what your filing status, eFile. We will apply all of the correct rates and amounts based on your filing status. You enter the information, and we do all the math for you. Use any of the other free tax estimator and tax calculator tools that help you find answers to your personal questions.

Get Your Tax Refund Date. What is DocuClix? Security About eFile. Where Is My Refund? The ability to take a deduction for medical expenses is tied in to the level of adjusted gross income AGI. Medical expenses are generally deductible only if they exceed 10 percent of AGI in 7. By filing separately, the AGI for each spouse is reduced. Taxpayers may select this status if their spouse died recently. The status allows joint tax rates and offers the highest possible standard deduction.

The surviving spouse can file a joint return with the deceased spouse for if the spouse died in Choosing the correct filing status is important and not always easy.

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