Filing Status
Filing Status
Mid America Tax Planner
HTTPS://WWW.ACCOUNTING-USA.COM
Helping Start a Plan To Reduce Tax
Liability Up to 50% in next 30 days!
Ph: (913) 210-4765
Single
A taxpayer is unmarried in 2018 if:
• The taxpayer has never married,
• The taxpayer was legally separated, according to
state law, under a decree of divorce or separate
maintenance.
• The taxpayer’s spouse died before January 1, 2018, and
the taxpayer did not remarry in 2018.
If the taxpayer meets the definition of unmarried, file as
Single unless the requirements for one of the following
filing statuses are met.
• Head of Household, or
• Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child.
Married Filing Joint (MFJ)
A taxpayer can file a joint return in 2018 with a spouse if:
• The taxpayer was married at the end of 2018, even if
the taxpayer did not live with the spouse at the end of
2018.
• The taxpayer’s spouse died in 2018, and the taxpayer
did not remarry in 2018.
• The taxpayer was married at the end of 2018, and the
spouse died in 2019 before filing a 2018 return.
• The taxpayer lived with a person in a common-law
marriage recognized in the state where they live or in
the state where the common-law marriage began.
A taxpayer can file MFJ if both spouses agree, otherwise
a married taxpayer may file:
• Married Filing Separately (MFS), or
• Head of Household (HOH) if the taxpayer meets the
requirements to be “Considered Unmarried.” See
Head of Household, later.
Married Filing Separately (MFS)
Married Filing Separately—Special Rules
50% of MFJ
Income
limits
50% of MFJ
Credits
Disallowed
Education
benefits
disallowed
IRAs
Social
Security
Rental
Real Estate
Losses
• Standard deduction. • First-Time Homebuyer Credit.
• Tax brackets. • Home mortgage interest limits.
• AMT exemptions.
• Net capital loss deduction ($1,500).
• Exclusion of gain on home sale.
• Child Tax Credit.
• Retirement Savings Contributions Credit.
• Reduction of itemized deductions.
• Exemptions phase out.
• Earned Income Credit.
• Elderly or Disabled Credit unless spouses lived apart all year.
• Child and Dependent Care Credit in most cases.
• Adoption Expense Credit in most cases.
• Education credits.
• Exclusion for U.S. bond interest.
• Student loan interest deduction
• Contributions phased out at $10,000 unless spouses lived
apart all year.
For MFJ, benefits are not taxable if income is under $32,000.
The taxation threshold is zero for MFS, unless spouses did
not live together at any time during the year.
Deduction is $12,500 reduced at modified AGI over $50,000.
No deduction if spouses lived together at any time during
The year
Any taxpayer that was married at the end of 2018 can file as MFS. Generally, a taxpayer will pay more tax by
filing MFS.
Head of Household (HOH)
The HOH filing status applies to unmarried individuals (or married individuals considered unmarried) who
provide a home for a qualified individual.
Filing Status
Qualifying child. The term qualifying child for purposes of the HOH rules has the same meaning as for the
dependency test. Qualifying relative. A qualifying relative can be a qualifying person for HOH filing status if the taxpayer paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home where the qualifying relative lived for more than half the year. The taxpayer must be eligible to claim a dependency exemption for the qualifying relative, and the qualifying relative must meet one of the following relationship tests.
• Son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant
of any of these (such as a grandchild),
• Brother, sister, or a son or daughter of either (such as
a niece or nephew),
• Father, mother, or ancestor or sibling of either, (such
as grandmother, grandfather, aunt, or uncle), or
• Stepbrother, stepsister, stepfather, stepmother, sonin-
law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.
Note: A person other than the relationships listed, above, who lived with the taxpayer all year as a member
of the taxpayer’s household, can qualify the taxpayer to claim a dependency exemption for that person, but such person who is a dependent only because they lived with the taxpayer all year does not qualify the taxpayer for HOH filing status.
Temporary absences. Temporary absences for special circumstances count as time lived in the taxpayer’s
home. Special circumstances include time away from home going to school, vacation, business, medical care,
military service, and detention in a juvenile facility. A person who was born or who died during the year is
treated as living in the home for the entire year if the home was their main home for the part of the year he or
she was alive. Married individuals considered unmarried. A married individual can be considered unmarried for HOH purposes if all the following apply.
• The taxpayer lived apart from his or her spouse for the
last six months of the year. Temporary absences for
special circumstances, such as for business, medical
care, school, or military service, count as time lived in
the home.
• The taxpayer does not file a joint return with his or her
spouse.
• The taxpayer paid over half the cost of keeping up the
home during the year.
• The taxpayer’s home was the main home of the taxpayer’s
child, stepchild, or foster child for more than
half the year.
• The taxpayer claims this child as a dependent, or the
child’s other parent claims him or her as a dependent
under the rules for children of divorced or separated
parents.
Qualifying Widow(er) (QW)
The QW filing status is available for the first two years following the year a spouse died, provided all the following requirements are met.
• The spouse died in 2016 or 2017 and the taxpayer did
not remarry in 2018.
• The taxpayer has a child or stepchild that the taxpayer
can claim as a dependent. This does not include a foster
child.
• The child lived in the taxpayer’s home for all of 2018. If
there is a temporary absence for special circumstances,
the child is not considered to be away from home,
such as for school, vacations, medical care, business,
military service, or detention in a juvenile facility.
• The taxpayer paid over half the cost of keeping up a
home.
• The taxpayer filed a joint return with deceased spouse
in the year of death or could have filed a joint return
that year.
If the taxpayer’s spouse died in 2018, the taxpayer is married
for 2018 and cannot file as a Qualifying Widow(er)
until 2019.
Contact Us
There are many events that occur during the year that can affect your tax situation. Preparation of your tax return involves summarizing transactions and events that occurred during the prior year. In most situations, treatment is firmly established at the time the transaction occurs. However, negative tax effects can be avoided by proper planning. Please contact us in advance if you have questions about the tax effects of a transaction or event, including the following:
• Pension or IRA distributions.
• Significant change in income or
deductions.
• Job change.
• Marriage.
• Attainment of age 59½ or 70½.
• Sale or purchase of a business.
• Sale or purchase of a residence
or other real estate.
• Retirement.
• Notice from IRS or other
revenue department.
• Divorce or separation.
• Self-employment.
• Charitable contributions
of property in excess of
$5,000.
