Single

• A taxpaying wage earner claims single filing status if he is unmarried on the last day of the year. This also applies to taxpayers who are divorced or legally separated by a state decree set forth before the last day of the tax year. Unmarried individuals may qualify for head of household filing status, which limits tax liability considerably.
  
  

Married Filing Jointly

• If the taxpayer chooses married filing jointly status, she must include all income, exemptions and deductions for both spouses. In addition, the return must reflect the same accounting period for filing, but each spouse may use different accounting methods. It makes no difference who earned the money or paid the taxes -- both people filing a joint return are jointly and individually responsible for all taxes, penalties and interest due. Also, if a spouse dies during the tax year, the surviving spouse may file as married filing jointly.
  
  

Married Filing Separately

• The IRS recommends that a taxpayer use the married filing separately filing status if the married couple cannot agree to file a joint return, if one party does not want responsibility for the other party's tax liability or if filing separately results in a lower tax burden. Keep in mind that filing separately generally results in a higher tax rate, the exclusion from the credit for dependent care expenses and it nullifies the Earned Income Tax Credit.
  
  

Head of Household

• Head of household filing status usually equates to fewer taxes because the tax rate is lower than it is for single status. To qualify for head of household status, the taxpayer must meet three requirements: He must be unmarried or considered unmarried under tax code rules at the end of the tax year; he must pay more than half the cost of home upkeep for the year and he must have at least one qualifying person living in the home for more than half the year. Under special circumstances, a dependent parent does not have to live with the taxpayer to be considered a qualifying person. A chart found in IRS Publication 501 identifies those whom the tax code considers a qualifying person.
  
  

Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child

• If a surviving spouse has dependent children, she may use the qualifying widow with dependent child filing status for two years after the year her spouse died. This filing status enjoys joint-return tax rates and qualifies for the highest standard deduction allowed. The IRS limits who qualifies as a dependent. Check Publication 501 for a flow chart that eliminates guesswork with regard to a dependent's status.
  
  

Considerations

• Information about filing statuses apply to the 2010 tax year. Consult a tax professional if in doubt about filing status or if any part of a tax law creates a question about the federal return's validity.