You can choose married filing separately as your filing status if you are married. 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.

Table 2-1. Qualifying Person

If you live apart from your spouse and meet certain tests, you may be considered unmarried and may be able to file as head of household. This can apply to you even if you are not divorced or legally separated. If you qualify to file as head of household, instead of as married filing separately, your tax may be lower, you may be able to claim the earned income credit and certain other credits, and your standard deduction will be higher. The head of household filing status allows you to choose the standard deduction even if your spouse chooses to itemize deductions. See Head of Household, later, for more information.

Unless you are required to file separately, you should figure your tax both ways (on a joint return and on separate returns). This way you can make sure you are using the method that results in the lowest combined tax. However, you will generally pay more combined tax on separate returns than you would on a joint return because the tax rate is higher for married persons filing separately.

How to file. If you file a separate return, you generally report only your own income, exemptions, credits, and deductions on your individual return. You can claim an exemption for your spouse if your spouse had no gross income and was not a dependent of another person. However, if your spouse had any gross income, or was the dependent of someone else, you cannot claim an exemption for him or her on your separate return.

If you file as married filing separately, you can use Form 1040A or Form 1040. Select this filing status by checking the box on line 3 of either form. You must also write your spouse’s social security number and full name in the spaces provided. Use the Married filing separately column of the Tax Table or Schedule Y-2 of the Tax Rate Schedules, to figure your tax.

Special Rules

Special rules apply if your filing status is married filing separately.

Community property states. If you live in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin and file separately, your income may be considered separate income or community income for income tax purposes. See Publication 555.

Deductions, credits, and certain income. If your filing status is married filing separately:

1. You should itemize deductions if your spouse itemizes deductions, because you cannot claim the standard deduction.
2. You cannot deduct interest paid on a qualified student loan.
3. You cannot take the credit for child and dependent care expenses in most instances, and the amount that you can exclude from income under an employer’s dependent care assistance program is limited to $2,500 (instead of $5,000 if you filed a joint return).
4. You cannot take the earned income credit.
5. You cannot exclude any interest income from qualified U.S. savings bonds that you used for higher education expenses.
6. You cannot take the credit for the elderly or the disabled unless you lived apart from your spouse for the entire year.
7. You cannot take the education credits (the Hope and lifetime learning credits).
8. You cannot take the exclusion or credit for adoption expenses in most instances.
9. You will become subject to the limit on the child tax credit, the limit on itemized deductions, and the phaseout of the deduction for personal exemptions at income levels that are half of those for a joint return.
10. You may have to include in income more of your social security benefits (or equivalent railroad retirement benefits) than you would on a joint return. For information on social security and railroad retirement benefits, see Publication 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits.
11. You cannot roll over amounts from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA during the year, unless you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year.
12. Your capital loss deduction limit is $1,500 (instead of $3,000 if you filed a joint return).

Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). You may not be able to deduct all or part of your contributions to a traditional IRA if you or your spouse were covered by an employee retirement plan at work during the year. Your deduction is reduced or eliminated if your income is more than a certain amount. This amount is lower for married individuals who file separately and lived together at any time during the year. For more information, see How Much Can I Deduct? in Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).

Rental activity losses. If you actively participated in a passive rental real estate activity that produces a loss, you generally can deduct the loss from your nonpassive income, up to $25,000. This is called a "special allowance." However, married persons filing separate returns who lived together at any time during the year cannot claim this special allowance. Married persons filing separate returns who lived apart at all times during the year are each allowed a $12,500 maximum special allowance for losses from passive real estate activities. See Limits on Rental Losses in chapter 10.

Joint Return After Separate Returns

You can change your filing status by filing an amended return using Form 1040X.

If you or your spouse (or each of you) file a separate return, you generally can change to a joint return any time within 3 years from the due date of the separate return or returns. This does not include any extensions. A separate return includes a return filed by you or your spouse claiming married filing separately, single, or head of household filing status.

Separate Returns After Joint Return

Once you file a joint return, you cannot choose to file separate returns for that year after the due date of the return.

Exception. A personal representative for a decedent can change from a joint return elected by the surviving spouse to a separate return for the decedent. The personal representative has 1 year from the due date of the return to make the change. See chapter 4 for more information on filing a return for a decedent.

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