Introduction to U.S. Individual Taxation Filing Status
The individual income tax is an important part of the United States taxation. The filing status of U.S. taxpayers is a crucial aspect of U.S. taxation as it determines a taxpayer’s tax bracket and the amount of tax owed. See the schedule for a comparison of tax brackets for various filing statuses.
Factors such as marital status, number of children, occupation, and other considerations play a role in determining the tax status of individuals. It is essential for taxpayers to accurately report their tax status to avoid penalties for fraudulent behavior. This article will provide a brief overview of various U.S. individual income tax filing statuses.
- Single return
Taxpayers who are single at year-end or legally separated must opt for single status.
- Married filing jointly
If a joint return is filed, parties must be married within the year, or married and living separated, but not legally divorced. If they divorce within a year, they may not file a joint return. If one spouse dies during the year, a joint return may be filed.
- Married filing separately
Married taxpayers can file separate returns even if only one partner has income. In common law states, select respectively to the husband and wife must be in their tax return report on their own personal income, tax, credit and deduction. In the state of the joint property of spouse, most of the income, deductions, credits are split 50/50.
- Surviving spouse
The surviving spouse uses the joint tax return standard deduction and tax rate for the two tax years following the death of the spouse unless he or she remarries. In the case of remarriage, the surviving spouse will file a tax return jointly or separately with the new spouse. When the surviving spouse must maintain a household, the household is the primary residence of the child or stepchild who qualifies as a taxpayer’s dependent for the entire tax year.
- Head of household
Head of household status allows certain taxpayers to pay lower taxes through larger standard deduction and wider tax brackets. To be eligible, the following conditions must be met:
(1)
|
The individual is not married, legally separated, or married but separated from his or her spouse during the last six months of the end of the tax year.
|
(2)
|
This person is not a surviving spouse.
|
(3)
|
The individual is not a non-resident alien.
|
(4)
|
For more than half of the tax year, the taxpayer’s residence is the principal residence of qualifying children, parents (not required to live with), relatives (must live with). Cousins, foster parents and non-related family members are not eligible. The dependent parent are not required to live with the taxpayer but the taxpayer is responsible for maintaining the home of the parent’s year-round primary residence. Maintaining the house means shouldering more than half of the maintenance costs.
|
See Schedule：
|
Tax rate
|
Single filers
|
Married filing jointly
|
Married filing separately
|
Head of household
|
|
10%
|
$0 - $11,000
|
$0 - $22,000
|
$0 - $11,000
|
$0 - $15,700
|
|
12%
|
$11,001- $44,725
|
$22,001-$89,450
|
$11,001- $44,725
|
$15,701- $59,580
|
|
22%
|
$44,726- $95,375
|
$89,451- $190,750
|
$44,726- $95,375
|
$59,851- $95,350
|
|
24%
|
$95,376- $182,100
|
$190,751- $364,200
|
$95,376- $182,100
|
$95,351- $182,100
|
|
32%
|
$182,101- $231,250
|
$364,201-$462,500
|
$182,101- $231,250
|
$182,101-$231,250
|
|
35%
|
$231,251-$578,125
|
$462,501-$693,750
|
$231,251- $346,875
|
$231,251- $578,100
|
|
37%
|
$578,126 or more
|
$693,751 or more
|
$346,876 or more
|
$578,101 or more
|
Reference:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/claiming-a-child-as-a-dependent-when-parents-are-divorced-separated-or-live-apart
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/federal-income-tax-brackets#2023-tax-brackets-and-income-tax-rates
|
