Married Filing Jointly

Posted on October 3, 2008 
Filed Under Federal Income Tax, Filing Status

Just in case both spouses report income on a calendar-year basis or use the same fiscal year and neither spouse is a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year, the couple is eligible to file a joint return if it meets any one of the following tests:

  1. The couple is married and living together on the last day of the tax year.
  2. The couple’s decree of divorce or separate maintenance has interlocutory status at year-end, that is, it is not finalized.
  3. The couple is, and has been, living together as common-law husband and wife in a state that recognizes common-law marriage.

In the event a U.S. citizen is married to a nonresident alien, the couple can elect to file a joint return if they agree to pay taxes on worldwide income and provide (or make available) the books, records, and other information the Internal Revenue Service needs to calculate their tax liability.

If a spouse dies during the tax year and a separate return is not filed by an executor or administrator for the decedent spouse, the surviving spouse can file a joint return if he or she does not remarry in the remainder of the year and, on the date of decedent’s death, the couple meets at least one of the three tests listed above.

For federal income tax purposes, marriage is defined as a legal union between one man and one woman; federal income tax law trumps any state law that sanctions marriage between individuals of the same sex. In short, a same-sex couple cannot file a joint federal income tax return. For more information, click on .

Additional relevant articles on married-filing-jointly status are listed below:

Many happy returns, Roger

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