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Eight Facts About Filing Status
Everyone who files a federal tax return must determine which filing status applies to them. It’s important you choose your correct filing status as it determines your standard deduction, the amount of tax you owe and ultimately, any refund owed to you.
Here are eight facts about the five filing status options the IRS wants you to know in order to choose the correct filing status for your situation.
- 1. Your marital status on the last day of the year determines your marital status for the entire year.
- 2. If more than one filing status applies to you, choose the one that gives you the lowest tax obligation.
- 3. Single filing status generally applies to anyone who is unmarried, divorced or legally separated according to state law.
- 4. A married couple may file a joint return together. The couple’s filing status would be Married Filing Jointly.
- 5. If your spouse died during the year and you did not remarry during 2009, you may still file a joint return with that spouse for the year of death, provided the joint return election is not revoked by a personal representative for the deceased spouse.
- 6. A married couple may elect to file their returns separately. Each person’s filing status would generally be Married Filing Separately.
- 7. Head of Household generally applies to taxpayers who are unmarried. You must also have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for you and a qualifying person to qualify for this filing status.
- 8. You may be able to choose Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child as your filing status if your spouse died during 2007 or 2008, you have a dependent child and you meet certain other conditions.
If you have questions or need additional help, please feel free to call us at 302-239-3500.
Five Filing Facts for Recently Married or Divorced Taxpayers
If you were married or divorced recently, there are a couple of things you’ll want to do to ensure the name on your tax return matches the name registered with the Social Security Administration.
Here are five facts from the IRS for recently married or divorced taxpayers.
Following these steps will help avoid problems when you file your tax return.
- 1. If you took your spouse’s last name or if both spouses hyphenate their last names, you may run into complications if you don’t notify the SSA. When newlyweds file a tax return using their new last names, IRS computers can’t match the new name with their Social Security Number.
- 2. If you were recently divorced and changed back to your previous last name, you’ll also need to notify the SSA of this name change.
- 3. Informing the SSA of a name change is a snap; you’ll just need to file a Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card at your local SSA office.
- 4. Form SS-5 is available on SSA’s Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov, by calling 800-772-1213 or at local offices. It usually takes about two weeks to have the change verified.
- 5. If you adopted your spouse’s children after getting married, you’ll want to make sure the children have an SSN. Taxpayers must provide an SSN for each dependent claimed on a tax return. For adopted children without SSNs, the parents can apply for an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number – or ATIN – by filing Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions with the IRS. The ATIN is a temporary number used in place of an SSN on the tax return.
If you have questions or need additional help, please feel free to call us at 302-239-3500.
Top Five Tax Time Tips
While the tax filing deadline is more than three months away, it always seems to be here before you know it. Here are some of the Internal Revenue Service’s top 10 tips that will help your tax filing process run smoother than ever this year.
- 1. Start gathering your records Round up any documents or forms you’ll need when filing your taxes: receipts, canceled checks and other documents that support an item of income or a deduction you’re taking on your return.
- 2. Be on the lookout W-2s and 1099s will be coming soon from your employer; you’ll need these to file your tax return.
- 3. Try e-file When you file electronically, the software will handle the math calculations for you. If you use direct deposit, you will get your refund in about half the time it takes when you file a paper return. E-file is now the way the majority of returns are filed. In fact, last year, 2 out of 3 taxpayers used e-file.
- 4. Consider Direct Deposit If you elect to have your refund directly deposited into your bank account, you’ll receive it faster than waiting for a paper check.