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?
There are five filing statuses - Single, Married Filing Jointly,
Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, and Qualified Widow - and choosing the right one can help taxpayers make the most out of their tax situation.
Contributions made to traditional IRAs may also be converted or rolled over at anytime to a Roth IRA by any taxpayer except taxpayers with AGI of $100,000 or more (regardless of filing status) for a tax year or taxpayers filing
married filing separately.
2002 Phase Out Amounts for personal exemptions: Taxpayer Begins After Married filing jointly $206,000 Single $137,300 Head of household $171,650
Married filing separately $103,000 Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (77) Higher exclusion for 2001: $80,000 (was $78,000 in 2001; will continue at $80,000 for future years with indexing for inflation).
Single individuals $50,600 Married filing jointly and surviving spouses 78,750
Married filing separately 39,375
However, as much as 85 percent of a person's disability income can be taxed if the total of one-half of the benefit and all other earned and investment income is more than $32,000 for a married couple filing jointly, or $25,000 for an individual or someone who is
married filing separately but who lived with a spouse at any time during the year (IRS Bulletin 915).
In addition, taxpayers with a filing status of
married filing separately, who have previously been precluded from making such conversions, will be able to do so (Sec.
Husband H's 2004 tax bill, using
married filing separately filing status, is $16,000; wife W's 2004 tax bill, using the same filing status, is $24,000.
To qualify for this penalty relief, the taxpayer's adjusted gross income must not exceed $200,000 if married filing jointly or $100,000 if filing status is single,
married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widower.
The IRS permitted the joint status for 2005 but not for the other years and adjusted his bankruptcy liabilities based on the
married filing separately status.
Same-sex married couples should consider how this will affect their annual income tax returns and whether they should file jointly or as
married filing separately.
Personal exemption credit - The personal exemption amount for single,
married filing separately, and head of household filers jumps from $94 to $99.
