I got married in Nov, can I still file single since I have only been married for 2 months out of the year? I think with most other stuff it has to be in effect for 6 months or more, not sure if it applied to being married as well. :confused:

No, you file what you are on the last day of the year. But why would you not want to file married, you can file married filing separate if you wish.

Filing joint return is always a better option, as some benefits are not available if you file as married filing separately.

What MukatA is not quite true!

The "marriage penalty" was, for the most part, fixed when the Bush tax cuts were passed, so it is possible (though not likely) that you could benefit by filing Married Filing Separately instead of filing jointly with your spouse.

The only way to be sure is to prepare the return BOTH ways and compare the results. A competent tax pro will do this as a matter of routine.