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taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP5114647c Filing Status

Check only the filing status that applies to you. The ones that will usually give you the lowest tax are listed last.

• Married filing separately.
• Single.
• Head of household.
• Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child.

More than one filing status can apply to you. Choose the one that will give you the lowest tax.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP0aea1b16 Line 1

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP34db152e Single

You can check the box on line 1 if any of the following was true on December 31, 2006.

• You were never married.
• You were legally separated, according to your state law, under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
• You were widowed before  
  January 1, 2006, and did not remarry before the end of 2006. But if you have a dependent child, you may be able to use the qualifying widow(er) filing status. See the instructions for line 5 that begin on page 17.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP6c1cb550 Line 2

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP7ab17116 Married Filing Jointly

You can check the box on line 2 if any of the following apply.

• You were married at the end of 2006, even if you did not live with your spouse at the end of 2006.
• Your spouse died in 2006 and you did not remarry in 2006.
• You were married at the end of 2006, and your spouse died in 2007 before filing a 2006 return.

For federal tax purposes, a marriage means only a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife. A husband and wife can file a joint return even if only one had income or if they did not live together all year. However, both persons must sign the return. Once you file a joint return, you cannot choose to file separate returns for that year after the due date of the return.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP606ff4a9 Joint and several tax liability.

If you file a joint return, both you and your spouse are generally responsible for the tax and any interest or penalties due on the return. This means that if one spouse does not pay the tax due, the other may have to. However, see Innocent Spouse Relief on page 64.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP1edddd7c Nonresident aliens and dual-status aliens.

Generally, a husband and wife cannot file a joint return if either spouse is a nonresident alien at any time during the year. However, if you were a nonresident alien or a dual-status alien and were married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of 2006, you may elect to be treated as a resident alien and file a joint return. See Pub. 519 for details.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP1b1b85c6 Line 3

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP39a8cb91 Married Filing Separately

If you are married and file a separate return, you will usually pay more tax than if you use another filing status for which you qualify. Also, if you file a separate return, you cannot take the student loan interest deduction, the education credits, or the earned income credit. You also cannot take the standard deduction if your spouse itemizes deductions.

Generally, you report only your own income, exemptions, deductions, and credits. Different rules apply to people in community property states. See page 22.

You may be able to file as head of household if you had a child living with you and you lived apart from your spouse during the last 6 months of 2006. See Married persons who live apart on this page.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP7a80ef9b Line 4

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP31d7bcb4 Head of Household

Special rules may apply for people who had to relocate because of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. For details, see Pub. 4492.

This filing status is for unmarried individuals who provide a home for certain other persons. (Some married persons who live apart are considered unmarried. See Married persons who live apart on this page.) You can check the box on line 4 only if you were unmarried or legally separated (according to your state law) under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance at the end of 2006 and either 1 or 2 below applies.

1. You paid over half the cost of keeping up a home that was the main home for all of 2006 of your parent whom you can claim as a dependent, except under a multiple support agreement (see page 21). Your parent did not have to live with you.
2. You paid over half the cost of keeping up a home in which you lived and in which one of the following also lived for more than half of the year (if half or less, see Exception to time lived with you below).
   1. Any person whom you can claim as a dependent. But do not include:
      1. Your qualifying child (as defined in Step 1 on page 19) whom you claim as your dependent based on the rule for Children of divorced or separated parents that begins on page 20,
      2. Any person who is your dependent only because he or she lived with you for all of 2006, or
      3. Any person you claimed as a dependent under a multiple support agreement. See page 21.
   2. Your unmarried qualifying child who is not your dependent.
   3. Your married qualifying child who is not your dependent only because you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2006 return.
   4. Your child who is neither your dependent nor your qualifying child because of the rule for Children of divorced or separated parents that begins on page 20.

      If the child is not your dependent, enter the child's name on line 4. If you do not enter the name, it will take us longer to process your return.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP44d7faf3 Dependent.

To find out if someone is your dependent, see the instructions for line 6c that begin on page 19.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP5b53b2b1 Exception to time lived with you.

Temporary absences for special circumstances, such as for school, vacation, medical care, military service, and detention in a juvenile facility, count as time lived in the home. If the person for whom you kept up a home was born or died in 2006, you can still file as head of household as long as the home was that person's main home for the part of the year he or she was alive. Also see Kidnapped child on page 21, if applicable.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP1278ac3e Keeping up a home.

To find out what is included in the cost of keeping up a home, see Pub. 501.

If you used payments you received under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or other public assistance programs to pay part of the cost of keeping up your home, you cannot count them as money you paid. However, you must include them in the total cost of keeping up your home to figure if you paid over half the cost.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP0b71ab91 Married persons who live apart.

Even if you were not divorced or legally separated at the end of 2006, you are considered unmarried if all of the following apply.

• You lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of 2006. Temporary absences for special circumstances, such as for business, medical care, school, or military service, count as time lived in the home.
• You file a separate return from your spouse.
• You paid over half the cost of keeping up your home for 2006.
• Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half of 2006 (if half or less, see Exception to time lived with you on this page).
• You can claim this child as your dependent or could claim the child except that the child's other parent can claim him or her under the rule for Children of divorced or separated parents that begins on page 20.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP163f5e6a Adopted child.

An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP17f27466 Foster child.

A foster child is any child placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by judgment, decree, or other order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP0d87df0d Line 5

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP2430f927 Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child

Special rules may apply for people who had to relocate because of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. For details, see Pub. 4492.

You can check the box on line 5 and use joint return tax rates for 2006 if all of the following apply.

• Your spouse died in 2004 or 2005 and you did not remarry before the end of 2006.
• You have a child or stepchild whom you claim as a dependent. This does not include a foster child.
• This child lived in your home for all of 2006. If the child did not live with you for the required time, see Exception to time lived with you below.
• You paid over half the cost of keeping up your home.
• You could have filed a joint return with your spouse the year he or she died, even if you did not actually do so.

If your spouse died in 2006, you cannot file as qualifying widow(er) with dependent child. Instead, see the instructions for line 2 on page 17.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP1a62abc4 Adopted child.

An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP1b01e0cb Dependent.

To find out if someone is your dependent, see the instructions for line 6c that begin on page 19.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP51a377ea Exception to time lived with you.

Temporary absences for special circumstances, such as for school, vacation, medical care, military service, and detention in a juvenile facility, count as time lived in the home. A child is considered to have lived with you for all of 2006 if the child was born or died in 2006 and your home was the child's home for the entire time he or she was alive. Also see Kidnapped child on page 21, if applicable.

taxmap/instr/i1040gi-012.htm#TXMP1aadcb25 Keeping up a home.

To find out what is included in the cost of keeping up a home, see Pub. 501.

If you used payments you received under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or other public assistance programs to pay part of the cost of keeping up your home, you cannot count them as money you paid. However, you must include them in the total cost of keeping up your home to figure if you paid over half the cost.

Previous Page:  Instructions for Form 1040 - Presidential Election Campaign Fund Next Page:  Instructions for Form 1040 - Exemptions Use     to find additional instances of index items.