Married taxpayer, filing as unmarried head of household, may use full standard deduction.

• Author: Fiore, Nicholas J.

Two taxpayers are legally married at the end of the tax year. They do not elect to file a joint return. One taxpayer qualifies to file as an unmarried head of household; the other files as married filing separately.

Issues

If a married taxpayer who files as a head of household itemizes deductions, may the taxpayer's spouse claim the full standard deduction for married taxpayers filing separately? In addition, if the spouse who files as married filing separately elects to itemize deductions, may the spouse who files as head of household claim the standard deduction for head of household status?

Analysis

Several provisions of the Code set forth circumstances in which an individual who is legally married may not be considered married. The general rule in Sec. 7703(a) provides that an individual legally separated from his spouse under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance would not be considered married. Under Sec. 7703(b), an individual who is married shall not be considered married if (1) an individual maintains as his home a household which constitutes, for more than half of the tax year, the principal place of abode of a child for which such individual is entitled to a deduction for the tax year, (2) such individual furnishes over half of the cost of maintaining such household during the tax year and (3) during the last six months of the tax year, such individual's spouse is not a member of such household.

Sec. 63(c)(6)(A) and (g) provide for another situation in which an individual who is married may be considered not married, providing that the marital status of an individual is also determined under Sec. 7703 when applying the limit as to the eligibility to take the full standard deduction when filing a separate return.

The principle of treating a married individual as unmarried in certain situations also applies to the tax tables set forth in Sec. 1. In general, a married individual may file a joint return with his spouse under Sec. 1(a), or file a separate return under Sec. 1(d) and pay the tax imposed on taxable income in accordance with the tables set forth therein. However, a married individual may also have an additional choice of filing status under Sec. 1(b) if he is a head of household (as defined in Sec. 2(b) and (c)). Although Sec. 2(b) specifically refers to an individual who is not married to be considered for head of household status, Sec. 2(c) provides that an individual shall be treated as not married at the...