{"id":217,"date":"2015-03-01T16:11:48","date_gmt":"2015-03-01T21:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.etax.com\/?p=217"},"modified":"2015-02-09T16:12:35","modified_gmt":"2015-02-09T21:12:35","slug":"marital-status-determined-taxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/","title":{"rendered":"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

For tax purposes, marital status is decided by your legal position on December 31st<\/sup>. Couples who have divorced or legally separated are considered \u201cunmarried individuals\u201d for the entire year, regardless of when the decree went into effect, as long as neither has remarried before the last day of December. Divorced or separated individuals who file a tax return for the year in which they were divorced should use the Single status. If you care for a qualifying dependent child or parent, you may be eligible to use the Head of Household status.<\/p>\n

If you live in a different residence than your spouse on December 31st<\/sup>, or are separated under an un-finalized decree, you are still labeled as \u201cmarried\u201d as far as the IRS is concerned. If you are eligible to file as Head of Household due to the care of a qualifying child, you can file as unmarried. If not, then you are required to file jointly with your spouse, or use the married filing separately status. You have to remember that even when filing separately, you must use the same method of deduction<\/a> as your spouse: either itemized or standard.<\/p>\n

Couples who are engaged in a common law marriage that is legal in their state of residence are considered married for tax purposes. If your spouse passes away, you are still married for the entire tax year, regardless of when the death occurred during the year. You are able to file a joint return for that first year, for you and your deceased spouse, as long as you haven\u2019t remarried by December 31st<\/sup>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For tax purposes, marital status is decided by your legal position on December 31st. Couples who have divorced or legally separated are considered \u201cunmarried individuals\u201d for the entire year, regardless of when the decree went into effect, as long as neither has remarried before the last day of December. Divorced or separated individuals who file […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[119],"tags":[84,48,25],"class_list":["post-217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-filing-status-2","tag-filing-status","tag-head-of-household","tag-itemized-deductions"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Marital Status is Determined for Taxes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For tax purposes, marital status is decided by your legal position on December 31st. Couples who have divorced or legally separated are considered \u201cunmarried individuals\u201d for the entire year, regardless of when the decree went into effect, as long as neither has remarried before the last day of December. Divorced or separated individuals who file […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eTax.com\u00ae Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-01T21:11:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4\"},\"headline\":\"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-01T21:11:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":272,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"filing status\",\"head of household\",\"Itemized Deductions\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Filing Status\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-01T21:11:48+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/01\\\/marital-status-determined-taxes\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"eTax.com\u00ae Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eTax.com\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png\",\"width\":225,\"height\":225,\"caption\":\"eTax.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/AskETAX\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/855ASKETAX\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.etax.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","og_description":"For tax purposes, marital status is decided by your legal position on December 31st. Couples who have divorced or legally separated are considered \u201cunmarried individuals\u201d for the entire year, regardless of when the decree went into effect, as long as neither has remarried before the last day of December. Divorced or separated individuals who file […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/","og_site_name":"eTax.com\u00ae Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/","article_published_time":"2015-03-01T21:11:48+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4"},"headline":"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes","datePublished":"2015-03-01T21:11:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/"},"wordCount":272,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["filing status","head of household","Itemized Deductions"],"articleSection":["Filing Status"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/","name":"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes - eTax.com\u00ae Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-01T21:11:48+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/01\/marital-status-determined-taxes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Marital Status is Determined for Taxes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/","name":"eTax.com\u00ae Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"eTax.com","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/44729_463802350345150_698036533_n.png","width":225,"height":225,"caption":"eTax.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eTaxcom-135749976483724\/","https:\/\/x.com\/AskETAX","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/855ASKETAX"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/ddb9378caffbf2f32f89a84d213b3ef4","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/11f5dc3cde415e2a21a1f661e9da122266d26fe459fff87652a83908cc05aae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions\/218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etax.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}