IRS
Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, advises, "If you and your spouse decide to file a joint return, your tax may be lower than your combined tax for the other filing statuses.
The IRS has provided guidelines in
Publication 501 to help taxpayers determine dependency deductions.
(** See IRS
Publication 501 (2011), Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information for details.)
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Publication 501: Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information
1.152-4(e), the IRS stated in
Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, that a noncustodial parent could attach to his or her tax return certain pages of a divorce decree that conformed to the substance of Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent, to serve as the written declaration required by Sec.