Filing Status
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2002 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
My wife and I have been separated since May. She has one child (grandchild) living with her. Can we both file as single?
You and your wife can either file as married filing jointly, or married filing separately. Your wife might qualify as head of household since the grandchild may be a qualifying person for that status. If she does, you would have to file as married filing separately. Refer to Publication 501 (PDF), Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.
References: If two single people (never married) have a child and have always lived together providing equal support for that child, can they both claim head of household status?
Only the person who paid more that half the cost of keeping up a home for the year would qualify for the head of household filing status. If both people paid exactly the same amount, neither would qualify for the head of household filing status. Please refer to Publication 501 (PDF), Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.
References: 2.3 Filing Requirements/Status/Dependents/Exemptions: Dependents & Exemptions I have a court order that says I have the tax exemption for my minor child until further order of the court. Can I just send a copy of the court order with my prepared taxes or do I have to have a waiver signed by the other parent?
If your divorce decree or separation agreement went into effect after 1984 and it states you can claim the child as your dependent without regards to any condition, such as payment of support, you can attach a copy of the following pages from the decree or agreement instead of Form 8332 (PDF), Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents. - Cover page (write other parents social security number on this page).
- The page that states you can claim the child as a dependent.
- Signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the agreement.
If the court order that you are referring to in your question is not a divorce decree or separation agreement and is not a modification to an existing divorce decree or separation agreement, then Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, must be attached to your tax return.
References: What needs to be done in order to rescind a Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents?
The consent of both parents is required in order to revoke Form 8332 (PDF), Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents. If both former spouses try to claim the child as a dependent, both returns will be subject to further IRS review.
References: My divorce decree states my ex-spouse is allowed to claim one of our two children that live with me. He is very behind in child support so can I claim both children?
The answer depends on the year of the divorce decree and its exact wording. - If the divorce decree states that your spouse must pay child support to claim the child as a dependent and if the child lived with you for more than half the year, then you can claim the child as a dependent on you return. If the divorce decree was executed after 1984 and it unconditionally entitles your spouse to the exemption, then your spouse gets to claim the child as a dependent.
- If the divorce decree that entitles the noncustodial parent to the exemption was executed prior to 1985 (and not modified) and the noncustodial parent paid at least $600 of child support, then the noncustodial parent gets to claim the child as a dependent.
Please refer to Publication 504 (PDF), Divorced or Separated Individuals, for more information.
References: My wife and I are married filing separately. We have one son and we meet all of the dependency exemption tests. We contributed an equal amount to our son's support and want to know if we both can claim him on our separate returns?
Refer to Publication 501 (PDF), Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filling Information, for more information.
A dependency exemption may only be claimed on one return. Since you nor your wife contributed more than half of your son's support, one of you can still claim dependence exemption for your son only if the other spouse provides a written declaration that he or she will not claim dependent for that year. Form 2120 (PDF), Multiple Support Declaration, can be used for this purpose
References: My husband and I were separated the last 11 months of the year and our two children lived with me. My husband provided all the financial support. Who can claim the children as dependents on the tax return?
There is a special rule for children of divorced or separated parents, which usually gives the dependency exemption to the custodial parent.
Under the special rule, the parent who had custody of the child for the greater part of the year (the custodial parent) is generally treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if certain conditions are met.
Refer to Publication 501 (PDF), Exemption, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information or Publication 504 (PDF), Divorced or Separated Individuals, for more information on the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents.
You may want to complete Form 8332 (PDF), Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, and provide it to the claiming parent to authorize him or her to claim the exemption. The claiming parent would then need to attach Form 8332 to his or her tax return. Please be aware that if you relinquish the exemption, you are also relinquishing eligibility for the Child Tax Credit.
References: 8.1 Earned Income Tax Credit: Qualifying Child Rules My wife and I have two children and we are going to file separate returns this year. Can we each claim one child for the Earned Income Credit?
In order to qualify for the Earned Income Credit, your filing status cannot be Married Filing Separately. If you are married, you usually must file a joint return to claim the Earned Income Credit.
However, if you are married and your spouse did not live in your home at any time during the last 6 months of the year, you may be able to file as Head of Household. In that case, you may be able to claim the Earned Income Credit.
Please refer to Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit, for a complete discussion of the Earned Income Credit. Refer to Publication 501 (PDF), Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for the Head of Household filing status rules.
References: 8.3 Earned Income Tax Credit: Other EITC Issues If both parents want to claim the Earned Income Credit, who is entitled to it if there was no marriage?
If the child is a qualifying child of both parents, they may choose which one will claim the credit. If there are two qualifying children, each parent may claim the credit on the basis of one of the children. If both actually claim the credit on the basis of the same child or children, the parent who is entitled to the credit is the parent with whom the child lived for the longest period of time during the tax year, or the parent with the higher Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) if the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time during the year.
Refer to Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit, for full discussion of the Earned Income Credit rules.
References: 13.4 Aliens and U.S. Citizens Living Abroad: Nonresident Alien - General I have an H-1 visa and my husband has an F-1 visa. We both lived in the United States all last year and had income. What kind of form should we file? Do we file our taxes separately or jointly?
You will have met the substantial presence test and will be taxed as a resident alien for the previous year. You may file a joint tax return if your husband makes the choice to be treated as a resident for the entire year. Generally, you cannot claim tax treaty benefits as a resident alien on Form 1040 (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Please refer to Publication 519 (PDF), U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, for additional information.
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