Fiscal Tax Blog

The filing status of your return makes a large difference in how your taxes are calculated. For those people who are not dependents of anyone else, several categories are available, depending on your situation. Married couples have two filing options; they may file jointly, or separately. In most cases, it will save couples more tax money to file jointly; filing separately can exclude you from many tax deductions that would be otherwise available. There are a few exceptions to this, however, like people who owe a lot of state taxes. Those who are married, but separated, may qualify as single for tax purposes if they meet certain requirements. If you have lived apart during the last half of the year or longer, you may want to mention this to your tax preparer.

Single people have three options for filing, depending on their situation. Unmarried persons who have no dependents (children or other people whom they are financially supporting that meet the qualifications) may only file as single. Single people who have children may qualify as head of household, which will lower the amount of taxes owed to the government. If you have a shared custody agreement, then only one parent can use their children to claim this filing status.

Finally, widows and widowers whose spouse has passed away during the tax year can still file jointly with them. During the following two years, if you have a dependent child, you may file as a qualifying widower, which will also entitle you to a lower tax liability.

If you fit the qualifications for married filing jointly, head of household, or qualifying widower, it is worthwhile to file with these statuses. The amount of wages for each tax bracket increases for each of these, and the amount of money that is automatically deducted before those taxes are calculated increases. It is important, however, to realize that you may only choose a filing status for which you are eligible.

Can't take advantage of this tax break?

Check out our list of 40 Tax Breaks that you could use to get your largest tax refund ever in 2009.

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