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enzodonato · Mar 10, 2014, 04:56 PM

Just go divorced jan 1 2014 my x and I did not live together for the last 6 months
I want to claim head of household as I paid all the expenses in the house up until she moved out and am still paying. Question is If I file as legally separated head of household , does she have to file separetly as married filing separtely and what happens to all the items we normally listed jointly Ie taxes on our house are they all on my return and all the deductions do I take them since I paid all the bills ?
so if she has to do a return it will just be her income on her w2 ?

ebaines · Mar 11, 2014, 06:05 AM

You can file as Head of Household (HoH) as long as you did not live together for at least the last six months of 2013, you pay the majority of the upkeep of the house, and you have at least one child dependent living with you in the home. If you file as HoH then your ex will have to file a as maried filing seperately, and obviously she cannot claim the same dependent(s) as you. If you both itemize deductions be sure that you don't both claim the same deductions - you can split them up between you based on who paid for what, or work a deal to lower your overall tax bill by having the person in the higher tax bracket claim the deductions.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Mar 11, 2014, 12:19 PM

Ebaines,

Correct me if I am wrong, but if the OP's spouse did NOT live with him for the last six months of the year, she can file as if NOT married (i.e. as SINGLE).

ebaines · Mar 11, 2014, 12:36 PM

ATE: You may very well be right, but when I read over IRS Pub 501 it uses the "considered unmarried" clause only when discussing filing as HoH; under filing as single it says that you must be unmarried or legally separated, and that state law defines those terms. So I interpret this to mean the ex can't file as single. However - Pub 501 is just a guide, and perhaps there's a more definitive answer to this buried somewhere in IRS regs.

MLSNC · Mar 11, 2014, 03:46 PM

In NC an ex can not file as single until the court has taken some action. Generally, this is when the divorce is final. If a separate maintenance agreement has been approved by the courts, not the parties getting divorced, then you can also file as single. I have never seen this as most people separate, work out the details, wait the year and finalize the divorce. During that time they are married filing separately unless they meet the 6 month rule with a qualifying child.

I believe single vs married filing separately could vary based on state laws.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Mar 11, 2014, 05:26 PM

I will yield to the state law theory, but I KNOW the IRS allows foreign nationals whose spouses are back in the home country to file as single if they are separated for more than six months.