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Filing Status Pages

Tax Return Filing Status?

What is your tax filing status? When you prepare a tax return, you will need to select a filing status; this tool will get you the answer on which filing status is for you. In some cases, there is more than one filing status available to you (for example, married filing jointly or married filing separately). It is easy to determine which one is most beneficial to you by estimating your tax return with either option. Just explore both options using the free TaxStimator Tax Calculator. If you are a single taxpayer with one or more dependents, you should see if you qualify as head of household.

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Citizen / Resident
Were you a U.S. citizen and/or resident alien for all of the tax year?
Filing Status
What was your marital status on the last day of the tax year?
During The Tax Year
Did your spouse die during the tax year?
Previous 2 Tax Year
Did your spouse die during the previous two tax years?
Support Tax Year
Did you provide over half of your support for the tax year?
Tax Year
Did you pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the tax year?
IRS Qualifying Person
Do you have an IRS Qualifying Person who lived with you during the tax year? Use our DEPENDucator tool if you are unsure of how to answer.
Qualifying Child
Is the Qualifying Person your child or stepchild, but not a foster child?
Qualifying Person single
Is your Qualifying Person single?
Are Both of the Following True
  • The Qualifying Person is married.
  • They will file their own tax return.

Based on your answers, your filing status can be Married Filing Jointly OR Married Filing Separately. Learn the difference between these two statuses to help you decide which one is best for you.

Based on your answers, your filing status is Single. Single is the basic filing status for unmarried people who do not qualify to file as Head of Household. If you were not married on the last day of the tax year and you do not qualify to use any other filing status, then you must file your tax return as Single.

Based on your answers, you qualify for the Head of Household filing status. A lot of folks think that you can file for this status if you are married and this is not the case. You have to be single, or unmarried, with a dependent child or children to qualify.

Based on your answers, your filing status is Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child. This filing status allows you to retain the benefits of the Married Filing Jointly status for two years after the year of your spouse's death. You must have a dependent child in order to file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower.

This tool cannot determine your filing status because you were not a U.S. citizen and/or a resident alien for all of the tax year.

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Disclaimer: eFile.com makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the results of this estimator or calculator tool. The results are estimates and for informational purposes only and should not be relied on for tax advice.

What Does Your Filing Status Mean?

There are five different filing statuses: married filing jointly, married filing separately, qualifying widow, single, and head of household. Your filing status largely depends on your marital status and dependents, but there are several factors that go into selecting your tax filing status. The calculator tool below, the STATucator, will guide you through the process of determining which filing status is right for you. Just answer the "Yes" and "No" questions until the tax tool provides you with a filing status. Our STATucator is a multi-year tool that you can use for your previous year's tax returns as well!

Learn about the different filing statuses after you have gotten your results from the filing status calculator. Indicate your filing status when you prepare your tax return on eFile.com, and we will select all applicable forms and other information for your specific status. Additionally, we will select the right standard deduction for you; this will benefit you more if your filing status has a higher standard deduction.

See our whole range of tax calculators, estimators, and tools.

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