Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data · Preliminary work to prepare tax returns

Taxpayer filing status

The rule

Filing status is decided by facts as they stand on the last day of the taxable year, not by how the year mostly looked. Marital status is determined as of the close of the year, except that where a spouse dies during the year it is determined as of the time of death, and an individual legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance is not considered married (IRC § 7703(a)). A couple married on 31 December was married for the whole year for tax purposes; a couple divorced on 31 December was not married at all.

Married filing jointly. Spouses may make a single joint return even where one has neither gross income nor deductions (IRC § 6013(a)). Three restrictions sit in the same subsection: no joint return where either spouse is a nonresident alien at any time during the year; none where the spouses have different taxable years, subject to a death exception; and where a spouse has died, the joint return as to the decedent is made by the executor or administrator — though the surviving spouse may make it for both where no return has been made for the decedent and no executor is appointed before the last day prescribed for the survivor’s own return. And the consequence that clients most need to hear: on a joint return the tax is computed on aggregate income and the liability is joint and several (IRC § 6013(d)(3)).

Surviving spouse — the status the forms call qualifying surviving spouse — requires, under IRC § 2(a)(1), that the taxpayer’s spouse died during either of the two taxable years immediately preceding the taxable year, and that the taxpayer maintains as their home a household which is for the taxable year the principal place of abode of a dependent son, stepson, daughter or stepdaughter for whom the taxpayer is entitled to a deduction. Maintaining a household means furnishing over half its cost for the year. Two limitations follow in § 2(a)(2): the status is unavailable if the taxpayer has remarried at any time before the close of the taxable year, and unavailable unless a joint return could have been made for the year the spouse died.

Head of household requires, under IRC § 2(b)(1), that the individual is not married at the close of the year and is not a surviving spouse, and then either:

• maintains as their home a household which is, for more than one-half of the taxable year, the principal place of abode of a qualifying child of the individual, or of any other person who is a dependent for whom the taxpayer is entitled to a deduction; or
• maintains a household which is for the taxable year the principal place of abode of the taxpayer’s father or mother, where the taxpayer is entitled to a deduction for that parent.

The second limb is the one that catches people out, and it is worth reading twice. For a parent, the statute asks whether the taxpayer maintains a household that is the parent’s principal place of abode — not whether the parent lives in the taxpayer’s home. A taxpayer who pays over half the cost of a parent’s own residence, or of the parent’s care facility, can qualify without the parent ever living with them.

Current figures

The additional amount for the aged or the blind is an additional $1,650, increased to $2,050 where the individual is also unmarried and not a surviving spouse^TY2026, and the new deduction for seniors is $6,000 for each qualified individual who has attained age 65 before the close of the taxable year, for taxable years beginning before 1 January 2029^TY2026, reduced by 6 percent of modified adjusted gross income above $75,000, or $150,000 on a joint return^TY2026 — available to a married taxpayer only on a joint return.

How it works in practice

Head of household has special determination rules of its own. Section 2(b)(2) provides that a taxpayer legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance is not considered married; that a taxpayer is considered not married if at any time during the year their spouse is a nonresident alien; and that a taxpayer is considered married at the close of the year if their spouse (other than a nonresident alien spouse) died during the year. Section 2(b)(3) then bars the status to anyone who is a nonresident alien at any time during the year.

The married-living-apart rule is a separate route. Under IRC § 7703(b) a married individual who files a separate return is not considered married where three conditions are all met: the individual maintains as their home a household which is for more than half the year the principal place of abode of a child for whom they are entitled to a deduction (or would be but for the release of the claim to a noncustodial parent); the individual furnishes over half the cost of maintaining that household; and during the last six months of the taxable year the spouse is not a member of that household. This is the provision that lets a separated but not divorced taxpayer file as head of household, and each of the three conditions is load-bearing — a spouse who moved out in August defeats it.

Married filing separately is a real choice with real costs. It is available to any married couple, and it is the default where one spouse will not sign. It also disallows or restricts a long list of benefits, and where one spouse itemises the other must. The reason clients choose it anyway is joint and several liability: a spouse who has reason to doubt the other’s reporting is buying protection that innocent spouse relief only imperfectly restores after the fact.

Compute the alternatives rather than assuming. Where a taxpayer qualifies for more than one status — head of household and single, or qualifying surviving spouse and head of household — the statuses carry different standard deductions and different rate brackets, and the better answer is not always the one with the larger deduction once credits and phase-outs are applied. Run both.

How this has changed

The architecture of §§ 2 and 7703 has been stable for decades; the changes have been at the edges and in the vocabulary. The status once called “qualifying widow(er) with dependent child” is now presented on the forms as qualifying surviving spouse, with no change to the statutory test in § 2(a). The statute itself still reads “husband and wife” in § 6013 and uses masculine pronouns throughout § 2 — language that predates the recognition of same-sex marriage for federal tax purposes and has not been modernised, though the rules apply without regard to it.

For 2026 the amounts moved and one new provision arrived. The standard deduction figures in the table above come from Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Separately, Public Law 119-21 added a deduction for seniors at IRC § 151(d)(5)(C) for taxable years beginning before 2029, and attached a filing-status condition to it: a married taxpayer may claim it only on a joint return. That converts what used to be a purely arithmetic married-filing-separately comparison into one with an additional item on the joint side for any couple where either spouse is 65 or over.

Exam focus

Learn the three head of household requirements as the IRS states them — unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year, paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home, and a qualifying person lived in that home for more than half the year — and then learn the exception that a dependent parent need not live with the taxpayer. That exception is the single most tested point on this topic. Know that surviving spouse status runs for the two years after the year of death, ends on remarriage before the close of the year, and requires a dependent child in the home. Know that marital status is determined on the last day of the year, or at death.

Check yourself

1. Which is not a requirement for head of household status?

A. The individual is unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year B. A qualifying dependent parent lives at the same residence as the taxpayer C. The individual paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home D. A qualifying person lived in the home for more than half the year

Answer: B. For a parent, the test is whether the taxpayer maintains the household that is the parent’s principal place of abode — the parent need not live with the taxpayer.

2. A taxpayer’s spouse died in 2024. For which years may the taxpayer file as a qualifying surviving spouse, assuming a dependent child in the home and no remarriage?

A. 2024 only B. 2024 and 2025 C. 2025 and 2026 D. 2025 through 2027

Answer: C. A joint return is available for the year of death itself; surviving spouse status covers the two taxable years after it.

3. When is marital status determined?

A. On the first day of the taxable year B. On the last day of the taxable year, or at the time of death if a spouse dies during the year C. By the number of months married during the year D. On the date the return is filed

Answer: B.

4. A married taxpayer files separately, has a child living with her all year, pays all household costs, and her husband moved out on 12 August. May she file as head of household?

A. Yes; she paid all the costs and the child lived with her B. Yes, because they are separated in fact C. No; the spouse must not have been a member of the household during the last six months of the year D. No; head of household is never available to a married person

Answer: C. The spouse’s departure must precede the final six months, so a departure after 30 June fails the test for that year.

5. Neither spouse will sign a joint return and one spouse is a nonresident alien for part of the year. What follows?

A. A joint return may still be filed if the alien spouse consents B. No joint return may be made, and the other spouse may be treated as not married for head of household purposes C. Both spouses must file as single D. The couple must file jointly by default

Answer: B. Section 6013(a)(1) bars the joint return; § 2(b)(2)(B) treats the taxpayer as not married for head of household.