IRS Publication 501 — Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information

You may want to file separately if:

• You believe your spouse isn’t reporting all of their income, or

• You don’t want to be responsible for any taxes due if your spouse doesn’t have enough tax withheld or doesn’t pay enough estimated tax.

Divorced taxpayer. You may be held jointly and individually responsible for any tax, interest, and penalties due on a joint return filed before your divorce. This responsibility may apply even if your divorce decree states that your former spouse will be responsible for any amounts due on previously filed joint returns.

Relief from joint responsibility. In some cases, one spouse may be relieved of joint responsibility for tax, interest, and penalties on a joint return for items of the other spouse that were incorrectly reported on the joint return. You can ask for relief no matter how small the liability. There are three types of relief available.

1. Innocent spouse relief.

2. Separation of liability (available only to joint filers whose spouse has died, or who are divorced, who are legally separated, or who haven’t lived together for the 12 months ending on the date the election for this relief is filed).

3. Equitable relief.

You must file Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, to request relief from joint responsibility. Pub. 971 explains the kinds of relief and who may qualify for them. Signing a joint return. For a return to be considered a joint return, both spouses must generally sign the return. Spouse died before signing. If your spouse died before signing the return, the executor or administrator must sign the return for your spouse. If neither you nor anyone else has been appointed as executor or administrator, you can sign the return for your spouse. Check the “Deceased” box at the top of page 1 of Form 1040 or 1040 -SR and enter the date your spouse died in the entry spaces after “Spouse.” Enter “Filing as surviving spouse” in the area where you sign the return.

Spouse away from home. If your spouse is away from home, you should prepare the return, sign it, and send it to your spouse to sign so it can be filed on time.

Injury or disease prevents signing. If your spouse can’t sign because of injury or disease and tells you to sign for them, you can sign your spouse’s name in the proper space on the return followed by the words “By (your name), Spouse.” Be sure to sign in the space provided for your signature. Attach a dated statement, signed by you, to the return. The statement should include the form number of the return you are filing, the tax year, and the reason your spouse can’t sign, and it should state that your spouse has agreed to your signing for them. Signing as guardian of spouse. If you are the guardian of your spouse who is mentally incompetent, you can sign the return for your spouse as guardian.

Spouse in combat zone. You can sign a joint return for your spouse if your spouse can’t sign because they are serving in a combat zone (such as the Persian Gulf area, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, or Afghanistan), even if you don’t have a power of attorney or other statement. Attach a signed statement to your return explaining that your spouse is serving in a combat zone. For more information on special tax rules for persons who are serving in a combat zone, or who are in missing status as a result of serving in a combat zone, see Pub. 3.

Power of attorney (POA). In order for you to sign a return for your spouse in any of these cases, you must attach to the return a POA that authorizes you to sign for your spouse. You can use a POA that states that you have been granted authority to sign the return, or you can use Form 2848. Part I of Form 2848 must state that you are granted authority to sign the return. Nonresident alien or dual-status alien. Generally, a married couple can’t file a joint return if either spouse is a nonresident alien at any time during the year. However, you and your spouse can choose to be treated as U.S. residents for the entire year and file a joint return if one spouse was a nonresident alien at the end of the taxable year (the nonresident spouse) and the other was a U.S. citizen or resident at the end of the taxable year. This choice remains in effect in subsequent years until terminated. You and your spouse can also choose to file as U.S. residents for the entire year if both of you are U.S. citizens or residents at the end of the year and either (or both) of you were a nonresident at the beginning of the year (the dual -status spouse(s)). You can only make this choice for 1 year, and it doesn’t apply to any future years. If you and your spouse are making either of these choices to be treated as U.S. residents for 2025, check the box in the Filing Status section and enter the name of the nonresident spouse or dual -status spouse(s) (whichever applies to you) in the entry space. Also check the box and enter their name if you and your nonresident spouse made the choice to be treated as residents in a prior year and the choice remains in effect. See the Instructions for Form 1040 and Pub. 519 for more information on how to make this choice.

Married Filing Separately You can choose married filing separately as your filing status if you are married. This filing status may benefit you if you want to be responsible only for your own tax or if it results in less tax than filing a joint return.

If you and your spouse don’t agree to file a joint return, you must use this filing status unless you qualify for head of household status, discussed later.

You may be able to choose head of household filing status if you are considered unmarried because you live apart from your spouse and meet certain tests (explained later under Head of Household ). This can apply to you even if you aren’t divorced or legally separated. If you qualify to file as head of household, instead of as married filing separately, your tax may be lower, you may be able to claim certain tax benefits, and your standard deduction will be higher. The head of household filing status allows you to choose the standard deduction even if your spouse chooses to itemize deductions. See Head of Household , later, for more information.

You will generally pay more combined tax on separate returns than you would on a joint return for the reasons listed under Special Rules, later. However, unless you are required to file separately, you should figure your tax both ways (on a joint return and on separate returns). This way, you can make sure you are using the filing status that results in the lowest combined tax. When figuring the combined tax of a married couple, you may want to consider state taxes as well as federal taxes. How to file. If you file a separate return, you generally report only your own income, credits, and deductions.

Select this filing status by checking the “Married filing separately” box on the Filing Status line near the top of Form 1040 or 1040 -SR. Enter your spouse’s full name in the entry space below the filing status checkbox. Be sure to enter your spouse’s SSN or ITIN in the space for spouse’s SSN on Form 1040 or 1040 -SR. If your spouse doesn’t have and isn’t required to have an SSN or ITIN, enter “NRA” in the entry space below the filing status checkboxes. For electronic filing, enter the spouse’s name or “NRA” if the spouse doesn’t have an SSN or ITIN in the entry space below the filing status checkboxes. Use the Married filing separately column of the Tax Table, or Section Cof the Tax Computation Worksheet, to figure your tax. Special Rules If you choose married filing separately as your filing status, the following special rules apply. Because of these special rules, you usually pay more tax on a separate return than if you use another filing status you qualify for.

1. Your tax rate is generally higher than on a joint return.

2. Your exemption amount for figuring the alternative minimum tax is half that allowed on a joint return.

3. You can’t take the credit for child and dependent care expenses in most cases, and the amount you can exclude from income under an employer’s dependent care assistance program is limited to $2,500 (instead of $5,000 on a joint return). However, if you are legally separated or living apart from your spouse, you may be able to file a separate return and still take the credit. See What’s Your Filing Status? in Pub. 503 for more information.

4. You can’t take the earned income credit unless you have a qualifying child and meet certain other requirements.

TIP Publication 501 (2025) 7