Filing Status Explained: Which One Applies?

Your filing status is a category on your tax return based on your marital and family situation, and it affects your standard deduction, your tax rates and which credits you can claim.

The IRS recognizes five filing statuses: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household and qualifying surviving spouse.  You generally use one status for the whole year, and it is decided by your situation on the last day of the year.

Picking the right one is not always obvious.  Some people qualify for more than one, and the choice can change the result.  That is why it is worth checking before you file rather than choosing by habit.

Head of household is for unmarried people who pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home that a qualifying person lives in, and single is the default when you do not meet those tests.

The qualifying person is often a child, but it can be another relative, and the person usually has to live with you for more than half the year.  Special rules apply to a parent you support.  Head of household often gets a larger standard deduction than single, which is why people ask about it, but you cannot choose it simply because it looks better.

The IRS checks these claims.  If you use a status you do not qualify for, you may face a notice, a corrected return and possibly penalties.  Our page on dependents and child-related credits covers who counts as a dependent.

• You must be unmarried, or considered unmarried, on the last day of the year
• You generally pay more than half the cost of the home
• A qualifying person usually lives with you for more than half the year
• Not every relative or dependent counts as a qualifying person

Your Alabama return has its own filing status choices, which often line up with your federal choice but may be named or defined a little differently, so there are state-specific points to check.

Because the Alabama return starts from your federal return, a change in your federal filing status can carry through.  Married couples in particular should look at both returns together, since a choice that helps on one may not help on the other.  Read how to file taxes in Alabama for the wider picture.