status. For
example, a custodial parent may be able to claim Head of Household filing
status even if he or she released a claim for exemptions for the child.
The IRS recognizes common-law marriages as legal
marriages. This includes being known in your society as being married as
husband and wife. If on the last day of your tax year you are
living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in a
state where you now live or in the state where the common law
marriage began, you would be considered married for the entire year.
If you have a valid common-law married that the IRS recognizes, then you can
file a federal married filing jointly of married filing separate tax return.
You will determine if a final
tax return is required for a decedent if the decedent had a filing
requirement at time of death. You must file an income tax return for a
decedent if you are the surviving spouse, executor,
administrator or legal representative. Write "DECEASED", the decedent's name
along with the date of death across the top of the income tax return.
However, if filing a joint return write the name and address of the decedent
and the surviving spouse in the address field.
If you fail to file a tax return, you may have to
pay failure to file and/or a failure to pay penalty. If you do not file by
the deadline, you could be liable for a failure to file penalty. You may have to
failure to pay a penalty if you are required
to file a tax return but fail to do so. If you willfully fail to
file a tax return, especially after asked to do so by the IRS, you may be subject to criminal prosecution.
Even though you are not able to pay the tax due on your tax return, you
should at least file your tax return on time and ask for payment options.
A person who is a dependent may still have to
file a tax return. This depends on the amount of the dependent's
earned, unearned and gross income. A dependent who has earned income must
file if the total is more than $1,000. The parent of a child under age 19
(or 24 if a student), may be able to elect to include the unearned income in
the parent's return and the child will not have to file a return. If
the child has both earned and unearned income, then the child must file a
return if the income was $1,000 or his or her earned income up to the
regular standard deduction plus $350.
Age is a factor in determining if you must file a
tax return if you are 65 or older, you are a dependent or you
have gross income of more than $3,900 at the end of your tax year. If the
dependent's gross income was $3,900 or more, the dependent usually cannot be
claimed as a dependent unless the dependent is a qualifying child.
For purposes of determining whether you must file
a tax return, you must include in your gross income all income
you earned or received abroad, and any income you exclude under the foreign
earned income exclusion.
Even if you are not required to file a tax
return, you should consider filing if you had any tax
withholding from your paycheck. You should also consider filing if you
want to avoid any communication from the IRS. If box 3 (regarding basis of
property) of your Form 1099-B, Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange
Transactions, is left blank.
