Which filing status should I use?

Choose the one that matches your personal circumstances. Each filing status has its own requirements. Here are brief descriptions:

Additional Information for Your Filing Status:

• Single -- Your filing status is single if, on the last day of the year, you are unmarried or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree, and you do not qualify for another filing status.
  
  
• Married filing joint -- If you are considered married for the whole year, you and your spouse can file a joint return or you can file separate returns.
  You are considered married if:
  1. You are married and living together as husband and wife.
     
     
  2. You are living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in a state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began.
     
     
  3. You are married and living apart, but not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
     
     
  4. You are separated under an interlocutory (not final) decree of divorce. For purposes of filing a joint return, you are not considered divorced.
  
  
• Head of household -- You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all of the following requirements:
  1. You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You are unmarried if you were legally separated from your spouse, either by a divorce decree or separate maintenance decree. You are considered unmarried if your spouse was not a member of the household for the last six months of the year (and he/she does not intend to move back in).
     
     
  2. You paid more than half the cost to maintain your household during the year.
     
     
  3. A qualifying dependent* lived in the household with you for more than half the year (unless the dependent was a parent).
     
     * Even if you do not have a qualifying dependent living with you, you may still qualify for head of household status. If you meet the other qualifications, and either of the following applies to you, you may file as head of household:
     1. You paid over half the cost of maintaining a home that was the main home for all of 2012 of your parent whom you can claim as a dependent. Your parent did not have to live with you in your home.
     2. You paid over half the cost of maintaining your home in which one or more of the following also lived with you for more than half the year:
        • Your unmarried child, adopted child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc. or stepchild. This child does not have to be your dependent. If this is the case, you will need to provide the child' s name and social security number (our program will provide a page for you to do this).
        • Your married child, adopted child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc. or stepchild. This child must be your dependent, unless the other parent claims him or her as a dependent under the rules for children of divorced or separated parents. If this is the case, you will need to provide the child's name and social security number (our program will provide a page for you to do this).
        • Your foster child, who must be your dependent.
        • Any other relative you can claim as a dependent.
     NOTE: You cannot file as head of household if your child, parent or relative described above is your dependent under the rules for a person supported by two or more taxpayers.
     
     If you need more detailed information about whether you qualify to file as head of household, please refer to the IRS Form 1040 instructions.
     
     
• Qualifying widow(er) -- You can use this status if your spouse died in the last two years, you have a dependent child, you haven't remarried by the end of the year and you meet certain other requirements. For example, if you're filing your 2012 return, you may be able to use this status if your spouse died in 2010 or 2011, you have a dependent child, and you didn't remarry by the end of 2012.
  
  
• Married filing separate -- You can use this status if you're married at the end of the year. This method may benefit you if you want to be responsible only for your own tax or if this method results in less tax than a joint return. If you and your spouse do not agree to file a joint return, you may have to use this filing status.