A legally divorced taxpayer maintains a household for himself and maintains a separate household that is the principal place of abode of his dependent widowed mother. What filing status should he use when filing his tax return? A) Married Filing Separately. B) Single. C) Qualifying widow(er). D) Head of Household.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct filing status in this case is D) Head of Household.
To qualify for the Head of Household filing status, a taxpayer must meet several criteria, which include the following:
- Unmarried or considered unmarried: The taxpayer must either be unmarried on the last day of the tax year or considered unmarried based on certain circumstances (e.g., if they are legally separated or live apart from their spouse for the last six months of the year).
- Providing more than half the cost of maintaining a home: The taxpayer must have paid more than half of the costs of maintaining a home that is the principal place of abode for a qualifying person. In this case, the taxpayer maintains a separate household for his dependent, the widowed mother.
- Qualifying Person: The dependent must be a qualifying person under IRS rules. In this scenario, the taxpayer’s widowed mother qualifies as a dependent if she is a U.S. citizen, a resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, and her income is below the exemption amount. The taxpayer must also have provided more than half of her support during the tax year.
The key point here is that the taxpayer is maintaining a household for a dependent, his widowed mother, who meets the criteria for a “qualifying person.” This allows the taxpayer to file as Head of Household, which typically provides a more favorable tax rate compared to filing as Single. In addition to the tax rate advantage, the Head of Household status may also result in a higher standard deduction.
In contrast:
- A) Married Filing Separately is not correct because the taxpayer is legally divorced.
- B) Single is not appropriate since the taxpayer maintains a household for a dependent.
- C) Qualifying widow(er) is for taxpayers who have lost a spouse and are maintaining a home for a dependent child, not for a dependent parent.
Therefore, Head of Household is the most suitable filing status for this taxpayer.