Chapter 2 of IRS Publication 17 sorts every taxpayer into one of five filing statuses: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse. Your status sets your tax column, your standard deduction and your eligibility for several credits. In the 2025 edition the chapter covers printed pages 21 to 26 of Part One, and the 2023 and 2024 editions carry the same chapter. It touches Form 1040 or 1040-SR, Form 1040-X, Form 8857 and Form 2848. Read it with chapter 1 (who must file) and chapter 3 (who is a dependent); our filing status guide gives a shorter plain-English version. These are unofficial study notes in our own words; the IRS publication controls.
Key terms
| Term | Meaning in one line |
|---|---|
| Interlocutory decree | A temporary divorce order; you stay married until it is final |
| Considered unmarried | A married person who passes five tests and may use head of household |
| Joint and several liability | The IRS can collect a joint-return balance from either spouse |
| Innocent spouse relief | Relief from tax caused by the other spouse's errors, asked for on Form 8857 |
| Keeping up a home | Paying the housing and running costs of the household |
| Qualifying person | The child or relative whose presence supports head of household |
Step one: marital status on the last day of the year
- You are unmarried for the whole year if on that day you are unmarried or legally separated by a divorce or separate maintenance decree. State law decides.
- A marriage valid where it was entered counts. Registered domestic partnerships and civil unions not called marriage do not. (The 2024 and 2025 editions print this definition; the 2023 edition has no such paragraph.)
- A final decree by year end makes you unmarried all year. A divorce arranged only to file as unmarried, followed by remarriage to each other the next year, leaves you married for both years.
- An annulment means no valid marriage ever existed; amend open years on Form 1040-X as single or head of household.
- You are married all year if you live together, have a recognized common law marriage, live apart without a decree, or are under an interlocutory decree.
- If your spouse dies during the year, you are married all year. Unless you remarry first, you may file jointly with the deceased spouse.
Single and married filing jointly
Single is for an unmarried person who fits no other status. Tax comes from the Single column of the Tax Table, or Section A of the Tax Computation Worksheet.
Married filing jointly (MFJ) requires a married couple that agrees. Income and deductions are combined, and one spouse may have none. Both must use the same accounting period. Joint filing often means lower tax and a larger standard deduction.
Liability is joint and several, even after divorce and even if the decree assigns the debt to the ex-spouse. Form 8857 asks for one of three kinds of relief (see our innocent spouse relief page): innocent spouse, separation of liability (for filers who are widowed, divorced, legally separated or apart for 12 months) or equitable relief.
Both spouses normally sign. The chapter lists special routes when one cannot (death, absence, illness, guardianship, combat zone), generally with a statement or a power of attorney (Form 2848) attached. A couple generally cannot file jointly if either is a nonresident alien, unless the nonresident or dual-status spouse is married to a citizen or resident alien at year end and they choose to be treated as U.S. residents all year (see residency rules).
Married filing separately (MFS)
Married people who do not agree to file jointly use MFS unless they qualify for head of household. Enter your spouse's name and SSN or ITIN (or "NRA" if your spouse has no number and is not required to have one), and use the MFS column or Section C.
| Item | Effect on a separate return |
|---|---|
| Rates; AMT (alternative minimum tax) exemption | Rates usually higher; exemption is half the joint amount |
| Child and dependent care | Credit generally barred; employer exclusion halved |
| Earned income credit (EIC); adoption benefits | Generally barred |
| Education credits; student loan interest | Barred |
| Lived with spouse at any time | No credit for the elderly or disabled; up to 85% of Social Security taxable |
| Child tax credit; credit for other dependents; saver's credit | Phase out at half the joint levels |
| Capital loss deduction | $1,500 instead of $3,000 |
| Standard deduction | Half the joint amount; none if your spouse itemizes |
Changing status. Separate to joint: Form 1040-X, generally within three years of the separate return's due date, ignoring extensions. Joint to separate: not allowed after the due date, except that a decedent's personal representative has one year after the due date, extensions included.
Head of household (HOH)
HOH usually has lower rates and a larger standard deduction than single or MFS. All three must be true:
- At year end you are unmarried or considered unmarried (see below).
- You paid over half of that year's cost of keeping up your home.
- A qualifying person shared your home for more than half the year, not counting temporary absences. A dependent parent need not live with you.
Considered unmarried. A married person passes if all five are true: you file separately; you paid over half the home costs; your spouse was not in the home at any time in the last six months of the year (a temporary absence still counts as being there); the home was the main home of your child, stepchild or foster child over half the year; and you can claim that child, or could except that the noncustodial parent does under the divorced-parent rules in chapter 3. This helps for HOH only, not for tests such as EIC.
Keeping up a home. Count rent, mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, repairs, utilities and food eaten at home. Do not count clothing, education, medical care, vacations, life insurance, transportation or anyone's unpaid services. Worksheet 2-1 compares what you paid with what others paid.
Qualifying person (Table 2-1).
| Person | Qualifies you? |
|---|---|
| Single qualifying child | Yes |
| Married qualifying child | Only if you can claim the child as a dependent |
| Dependent parent | Yes, living apart is fine if you pay over half the cost of the parent's main home |
| Other qualifying relative | Only if related in a listed way, living with you over half the year and claimable as your dependent |
| Friend, unrelated household member, multiple-support dependent | No |
One person can qualify only one taxpayer for HOH in a year.
Qualifying surviving spouse (QSS)
QSS gives joint-return rates and the highest standard deduction but not the right to file jointly. Use the MFJ column or Section B. You need all of these:
- You could have filed jointly for the year of death.
- Your spouse died in one of the two years before the return year, and you have not remarried by year end.
- A child or stepchild (not foster) you claim as a dependent, or could except that the child's gross income reached the yearly limit, the child filed jointly, or you are someone's dependent.
- The child lived with you all year, and you paid over half the home costs.
By tax year: 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 planning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QSS: spouse died in | 2021 or 2022 | 2022 or 2023 | 2023 or 2024 | 2024 or 2025 |
| QSS child test: gross income of this or more fails | $4,700 | $5,050 | $5,200 | $5,300 |
| Standard deduction: single or MFS | $13,850 | $14,600 | $15,750 | $16,100 |
| Standard deduction: MFJ or QSS | $27,700 | $29,200 | $31,500 | $32,200 |
| Standard deduction: HOH | $20,800 | $21,900 | $23,625 | $24,150 |
| Employer dependent care exclusion (MFS is half) | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $7,500 |
| AMT exemption: MFS | $63,250 | $66,650 | $68,500 | $70,100 |
2026 column: planning figures from Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the 2025 law; Pub 17 (2026) is not yet published. The 2026 QSS years are derived from the two-year rule.
Changes by year:
- All years: the tests for each status, the MFS restrictions and the rules for changing status read the same in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions, apart from the items below.
- The 2024 edition adds the definition-of-marriage paragraph.
- For 2025 the 2025 law set the standard deduction above the amounts first announced. Form 1040 gained a "main home in the U.S." box and numbered Dependents rows.
- For 2026 the dependent care exclusion rises to $7,500 ($3,750 MFS) under section 70404 of the 2025 law (Public Law 119-21). The draft 2026 Form 1040 keeps the status boxes and adds a citizenship or work-authorization question; drafts can change.
Worked examples
Example 1 (2025, HOH). Maya is unmarried and her 9-year-old son lived with her all year. Household costs were rent $15,000, utilities $3,000 and food $6,000, total $24,000. Maya paid $14,000. Half of $24,000 is $12,000, so she passes. Her standard deduction is $23,625 as HOH against $15,750 as single, a $7,875 difference.
Example 2 (2024, QSS). Sam's spouse died in 2022 and Sam has not remarried. A dependent child lives with Sam, who pays the home costs. Sam could file jointly for 2022, uses QSS for 2023 and 2024, and may use HOH from 2025. For 2024 the QSS deduction is $29,200 against $21,900 as HOH, a $7,300 difference.
Example 3 (2023, considered unmarried). Dana's spouse moved out June 1, 2023, with no divorce. Their child lived with Dana all year, Dana files separately and pays more than half the home costs. The last six months run July 1 to December 31 and the spouse was gone for all of it, so Dana may use HOH. Had the spouse left July 15, Dana would fail the test and file as MFS or jointly.
Common mistakes and exam traps
- Treating a separated couple as unmarried when no final decree exists.
- Miscounting the spouse's absence: the spouse must be out of the home for the entire last six months.
- Claiming HOH for a friend, partner or foster parent, none of whom is a qualifying person.
- Forgetting that a married child qualifies you only if you can claim the child as a dependent.
- Using QSS in a third year after the death or without a dependent child.
- Assuming a joint return can be split after the due date.
- Overlooking that MFS bars the education credits and caps capital losses at $1,500.
Forms and lines map
| Form and place | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Form 1040 or 1040-SR (2025), Filing Status boxes | One box only |
| Same, MFS line | Spouse's full name; spouse's SSN or ITIN above |
| Same, HOH/QSS line | Child's name if the child is not your listed dependent |
| Same, resident-spouse election | Check and name a nonresident or dual-status spouse treated as a resident |
| Same, box below Dependents | MFS or HOH filers who lived apart the last six months (or are legally separated) |
| Tax Table; Tax Computation Worksheet A to D | Single; MFJ and QSS; MFS; HOH |
| Form 1040-X | Separate to joint; annulment |
| Form 8857; Form 2848 | Relief from joint liability; power of attorney to sign |
The 2026 draft Form 1040 moves the resident-spouse election into a new "Other information" block.
Check yourself
(2025) A final divorce decree is entered December 28, 2025. What is your status?
Answer: Unmarried for all of 2025: single, or HOH if you qualify. A decree before year end controls.
(2025) Your spouse moved out July 2, 2025, with no decree. Can you use HOH?
Answer: No. Your spouse lived in the home on July 1, so was not absent for the whole last six months.
(2024) Your spouse died in November 2022 and you have not remarried. Can you use QSS for 2024?
Answer: Yes, if a dependent child lives with you and you pay over half the home costs. 2023 and 2024 are the two years after the death.
(2023) Your spouse died in March 2023. What are your 2023 options?
Answer: Usually MFJ with the deceased spouse (MFS is possible). You are married all of 2023; QSS may start in 2024.
(2025) Mei files separately with an $8,000 net capital loss. How much can she deduct?
Answer: $1,500, against $3,000 on a joint return.
(2025) A friend lived with you all year and you supported them. HOH?
Answer: No. An unrelated household member is not a qualifying person.
(2025) A divorce decree makes your ex-spouse responsible for tax on your 2023 joint return. Can the IRS still collect from you?
Answer: Yes. A decree does not end joint liability; Form 8857 relief is the route.
(2024) You filed MFS on time for 2024. How long can you amend to MFJ?
Answer: Generally three years from the April 15, 2025 due date, so until about April 2028. Extensions add nothing.
(2026 planning) What is the QSS standard deduction, and how does it compare with HOH?
Answer: $32,200 against $24,150, per Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Pub 17 (2026) is not yet published.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file as head of household if I am still married?
Sometimes. You must file separately, have lived apart from your spouse for the last six months, keep up the home for a qualifying child and be able to claim that child.
Is it better to file jointly or separately?
Joint filing usually produces less combined tax, but not always. Figure the tax both ways unless separate filing is required, and consider state tax and liability concerns.
How long can I use qualifying surviving spouse?
For two tax years after the year of death. After that, head of household may apply if you still qualify.
A CPA can review a return to confirm that the filing status chosen matches the facts and gives the correct tax.
Official sources
- IRS Publication 17 (2025), chapter 2
- IRS Publication 17 (2024), chapter 2
- IRS Publication 17 (2023), chapter 2
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2022-38 (2023 inflation adjustments)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2023-34 (2024 inflation adjustments)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2024-40 (2025 inflation adjustments, partly replaced)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 adjustments and 2025 corrections)
This page is a plain-language summary. The official source controls if there is any difference.
General information only, not tax, legal or accounting advice for your situation. Rules, limits and deadlines change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a qualified professional before you act. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship with CPA Tax Payroll and Accounting Corp.