Page 25 - 2020 Publication 17

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The type and rule above prints on all proofs including departmental reproduction proofs. MUST be removed before printing.
Useful Items Fileid: … ations/P17/2020/A/XML/Cycle03/source joint return even if one of you had no income or
Married persons. If you are considered mar-
You may want to see: ried, you and your spouse can file a joint return deductions.
or separate returns. If you and your spouse decide to file a joint
Publication Considered married. You are considered return, your tax may be lower than your com-
501 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, married for the whole year if, on the last day of bined tax for the other filing statuses. Also, your
and Filing Information your tax year, you and your spouse meet any standard deduction (if you don’t itemize deduc-
tions) may be higher, and you may qualify for
503 503 Child and Dependent Care Expenses one of the following tests. tax benefits that don’t apply to other filing sta-
1. You are married and living together. tuses.
519 519 U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
2. You are living together in a common law How to file. On Form 1040 or 1040-SR, show
555 555 Community Property marriage recognized in the state where your filing status as married filing jointly by
559 559 Survivors, Executors, and you now live or in the state where the com- checking the “Married filing jointly” box on the
Administrators mon law marriage began. Filing Status line at the top of the form. Use the
3. You are married and living apart, but not Married filing jointly column of the Tax Table, or
925 925 Passive Activity and At-Risk Rules legally separated under a decree of di- Section B of the Tax Computation Worksheet,
For these and other useful items, go to IRS.gov/ vorce or separate maintenance. to figure your tax.
Forms. 4. You are separated under an interlocutory If you and your spouse each have in-
come, you may want to figure your tax
(not final) decree of divorce.
TIP
Marital Status Spouse died during the year. If your returns (using the filing status of married filing
both on a joint return and on separate
In general, your filing status depends on spouse died during the year, you are consid- separately). You can choose the method that
ered married for the whole year for filing status
whether you are considered unmarried or mar- purposes. gives the two of you the lower combined tax un-
ried. If you didn't remarry before the end of the less you are required to file separately.
Unmarried persons. You are considered un- tax year, you can file a joint return for yourself Spouse died. If your spouse died during the
married for the whole year if, on the last day of and your deceased spouse. For the next 2 year, you are considered married for the whole
your tax year, you are either: years, you may be entitled to the special bene- year and can choose married filing jointly as
• Unmarried, or fits described later under Qualifying Widow(er). your filing status. See Spouse died during the
If you remarried before the end of the tax
year, under Married persons, earlier, for more
• Legally separated from your spouse under year, you can file a joint return with your new information.
a divorce or separate maintenance decree. spouse. Your deceased spouse's filing status is If your spouse died in 2021 before filing a
State law governs whether you are married married filing separately for that year. 2020 return, you can choose married filing
or legally separated under a divorce or separate jointly as your filing status on your 2020 return.
maintenance decree. Married persons living apart. If you live
apart from your spouse and meet certain tests, Divorced persons. If you are divorced under a
Divorced persons. If you are divorced un- you may be able to file as head of household final decree by the last day of the year, you are
der a final decree by the last day of the year, even if you aren't divorced or legally separated. considered unmarried for the whole year and
you are considered unmarried for the whole If you qualify to file as head of household in- you can’t choose married filing jointly as your fil-
year. stead of married filing separately, your standard ing status.
Divorce and remarriage. If you obtain a di- deduction will be higher. Also, your tax may be
lower, and you may be able to claim the earned
vorce for the sole purpose of filing tax returns as income credit. See Head of Household, later. Filing a Joint Return
unmarried individuals, and at the time of divorce Both you and your spouse must include all of
in the next tax year, you and your spouse must Single your income and deductions on your joint re-
you intend to and do, in fact, remarry each other
file as married individuals in both years. Your filing status is single if you are considered turn.
Annulled marriages. If you obtain a court unmarried and you don’t qualify for another fil- Accounting period. Both of you must use the
decree of annulment, which holds that no valid ing status. To determine your marital status, same accounting period, but you can use differ-
ent accounting methods. See Accounting Peri-
marriage ever existed, you are considered un- see Marital Status, earlier.
married even if you filed joint returns for earlier ods and Accounting Methods in chapter 1.
years. File Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Indi- Widow(er). Your filing status may be single if Joint responsibility. Both of you may be held
vidual Income Tax Return, claiming single or you were widowed before January 1, 2020, and responsible, jointly and individually, for the tax
head of household status for all tax years that didn't remarry before the end of 2020. You may, and any interest or penalty due on your joint re-
are affected by the annulment and not closed however, be able to use another filing status turn. This means that if one spouse doesn't pay
by the statute of limitations for filing a tax return. that will give you a lower tax. See Head of the tax due, the other may have to. Or, if one
Generally, for a credit or refund, you must file Household and Qualifying Widow(er), later, to spouse doesn't report the correct tax, both
Form 1040-X within 3 years (including exten- see if you qualify. spouses may be responsible for any additional
sions) after the date you filed your original re- How to file. On Form 1040 or 1040-SR, show taxes assessed by the IRS. One spouse may
turn or within 2 years after the date you paid the your filing status as single by checking the “Sin- be held responsible for all the tax due even if all
tax, whichever is later. If you filed your original gle” box on the Filing Status line at the top of the income was earned by the other spouse.
return early (for example, March 1), your return the form. Use the Single column of the Tax Ta- You may want to file separately if:
is considered filed on the due date (generally ble, or Section A of the Tax Computation Work-
April 15). However, if you had an extension to sheet, to figure your tax. • You believe your spouse isn't reporting all
file (for example, until October 15) but you filed of his or her income, or
earlier and we received it on July 1, your return Married Filing Jointly • You don’t want to be responsible for any
is considered filed on July 1. taxes due if your spouse doesn't have
Head of household or qualifying You can choose married filing jointly as your fil- enough tax withheld or doesn't pay enough
estimated tax.
widow(er). If you are considered unmarried, ing status if you are considered married and
you may be able to file as head of household or both you and your spouse agree to file a joint Divorced taxpayer. You may be held jointly
as qualifying widow(er). See Head of House- return. On a joint return, you and your spouse and individually responsible for any tax, inter-
hold and Qualifying Widow(er) to see if you report your combined income and deduct your est, and penalties due on a joint return filed be-
qualify. combined allowable expenses. You can file a fore your divorce. This responsibility may apply
Chapter 2 Filing Status Page 21