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Filing Status
Your filing status affects your income tax rate, your standard deduction, and the availability of many tax breaks. There are five filing statuses from which to choose.

Two factors determine your filing status: marital status and financial responsibility for yourself and others.

  1. Choose Single if you will be unmarried as of December 31, 2002, and do not qualify to file as Head of household or Qualifying widow(er).

  2. Choose Married filing a joint return if you will be married as of December 31, 2002, or if your spouse passed away during 2002, unless you qualify as Head of household (described below).

  3. Choose Married filing separately if you will be married as of December 31, 2002, and do not want to file a joint return with your spouse. Your tax bill will generally be lower if you file a joint return.

  4. Choose Head of household if you will be single as of December 31, 2002, or considered unmarried for 2002 (as explained below), and meet both the following requirements:

    1. You will pay more than half the expenses for your household during 2002.

    2. You have a dependent who will live with you for more than half of 2002 (for the whole year, if a foster child), or you are claiming a parent as a dependent.

      However, if the dependent is your aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew, he or she must be related to you by blood to qualify. Also, if you are claiming a dependent under a multiple support agreement, that dependent does not qualify.

      You can also qualify as Head of household if you meet all the requirements above except the requirement that you claim a dependent, provided that you will live with your unmarried child or grandchild for at least half of 2002.

  5. Choose Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child if you meet all of these requirements:

    1. Your spouse died in 2000 or 2001 and you will not remarry before the end of 2002.

    2. You could file a joint return with your late spouse for the year he or she died.

    3. You will pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the main home for you and your dependent child for all of 2002.