Check only the filing status that applies to you. The ones that will usually give you the lowest tax are listed last.

• Married filing separately.
• Single.
• Head of household.
• Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child.

More than one filing status may apply to you. Choose the one that will give you the lowest tax.

Line 1 - Single

You may check the box on line 1 if any of the following was true on December 31, 2003.

• You were never married.
• You were legally separated, according to your state law, under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
• You were widowed before January 1, 2003, and did not remarry in 2003. But if you have a dependent child, you may be able to use the qualifying widow(er) filing status. See the instructions for line 5 on page 20.

Line 2 - Married Filing Jointly

You may check the box on line 2 if any of the following is true.

• You were married as of December 31, 2003, even if you did not live with your spouse at the end of 2003.
• Your spouse died in 2003 and you did not remarry in 2003.
• Your spouse died in 2004 before filing a 2003 return.

A husband and wife may file a joint return even if only one had income or if they did not live together all year. However, both persons must sign the return. If you file a joint return for 2003, you may not, after the due date for filing that return, amend it to file as married filing separately.

Joint and Several Tax Liability. If you file a joint return, both you and your spouse are generally responsible for the tax and any interest or penalties due on the return. This means that if one spouse does not pay the tax due, the other may have to. However, see Innocent Spouse Relief on page 60.

Nonresident Aliens and Dual-Status Aliens. You may be able to file a joint return. See Pub. 519 for details.

Line 3 - Married Filing Separately

If you are married and file a separate return, you will usually pay more tax than if you use another filing status that you qualify for. Also, if you file a separate return, you cannot take the student loan interest deduction, the tuition and fees deduction, the education credits, or the earned income credit. You also cannot take the standard deduction if your spouse itemizes deductions.

Generally, you report only your own income, exemptions, deductions, and credits. Different rules apply to people in community property states. See page 22.

You may be able to file as head of household if you had a child living with you and you lived apart from your spouse during the last 6 months of 2003. See Married Persons Who Live Apart on this page.

Line 4 - Head of Household

This filing status is for unmarried individuals who provide a home for certain other persons. (Some married persons who live apart may also qualify. See this page.) You may check the box on line 4 only if as of December 31, 2003, you were unmarried or legally separated (according to your state law) under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance and either 1 or 2 next applies to you.

1. You paid over half the cost of keeping up a home that was the main home for all of 2003 of your parent whom you can claim as a dependent. Your parent did not have to live with you in your home.
2. You paid over half the cost of keeping up a home in which you lived and in which one of the following also lived for more than half of the year (if half or less, see the Exception on this page).
   • Your unmarried child, adopted child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc., or stepchild. It does not matter what age the child was. This child does not have to be your dependent. If the child is not your dependent, enter the child's name in the space provided on line 4. If you do not enter the name, it will take us longer to process your return.
   • Your married child, adopted child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc., or stepchild. This child must be your dependent. But if your married child's other parent claims him or her as a dependent under the rules for Children Who Did Not Live With You Due to Divorce or Separation on page 21, this child does not have to be your dependent. Enter the child's name on line 4. If you do not enter the name, it will take us longer to process your return.
   • Your foster child, who must be your dependent.
   • Any other relative you can claim as a dependent. For the definition of a relative, see Pub. 501.

Note. You cannot file as head of household if your child, parent, or relative described earlier is your dependent under the rules on Multiple Support Agreement in Pub. 501.

Married Persons Who Live Apart. Even if you were not divorced or legally separated in 2003, you may be able to file as head of household. You may check the box on line 4 if all five of the following apply.

1. You must have lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of 2003. Temporary absences for special circumstances, such as for business, medical care, school, or military service, count as time lived in the home.
2. You file a separate return from your spouse.
3. You paid over half the cost of keeping up your home for 2003.
4. Your home was the main home of your child, adopted child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half of 2003 (if half or less, see the Exception on this page).
5. You claim this child as your dependent or the child's other parent claims him or her under the rules for Children Who Did Not Live With You Due to Divorce or Separation on page 21. If this child is not your dependent, be sure to enter the child's name on line 4. If you do not enter the name, it will take us longer to process your return.

Keeping Up a Home. To find out what is included in the cost of keeping up a home, see Pub. 501.

If you used payments you received under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or other public assistance programs to pay part of the cost of keeping up your home, you cannot count them as money you paid. However, you must include them in the total cost of keeping up your home to figure if you paid over half of the cost.

Dependent. To find out if someone is your dependent, see the instructions for line 6c on page 21.

Exception. You can count temporary absences, such as for school, vacation, or medical care, as time lived in the home. If the person for whom you kept up a home was born or died in 2003, you may still file as head of household as long as the home was that person's main home for the part of the year he or she was alive.

Line 5 - Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child

You may check the box on line 5 and use joint return tax rates for 2003 if all five of the following apply.

1. Your spouse died in 2001 or 2002 and you did not remarry in 2003.
2. You have a child, adopted child, stepchild, or foster child whom you claim as a dependent.
3. This child lived in your home for all of 2003. Temporary absences, such as for school, vacation, or medical care, count as time lived in the home.
4. You paid over half the cost of keeping up your home.
5. You could have filed a joint return with your spouse the year he or she died, even if you did not actually do so.

If your spouse died in 2003, you may not file as qualifying widow(er) with dependent child. Instead, see the instructions for line 2 on this page.

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