Tax Filing Statuses Compared

There are five IRS filing statuses: Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household, and Qualifying Surviving Spouse. Your status is generally based on your marital status on the last day of the tax year, 31 December. It decides your standard deduction, the width of your tax brackets, and which credits you can claim, so it is one of the most important choices on the return.

How status is decided

Your filing status is generally fixed by your marital status on 31 December. If you are married on that date, you are married for the whole tax year, even if the wedding was in December. If you are divorced or legally separated under a final decree by 31 December, you are unmarried for the whole year. You cannot choose a status that does not match your situation on that date.

There are narrow exceptions, such as being considered unmarried when a spouse lived apart for the last six months of the year and you maintained a home for a qualifying child. The general rule, though, is simple: 31 December decides.

Single and married filing jointly

Single is for people who are unmarried, divorced, or legally separated on 31 December. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100, and the brackets are the narrowest, with the top 37% rate starting over $640,600 of taxable income.

Married filing jointly is the most common choice for couples, and usually the cheapest. Both spouses file one return, the standard deduction is $32,200 for 2026, and the brackets are roughly twice as wide as the single brackets at the lower rates. The trade-off is joint and several liability: both spouses are jointly and individually liable for the whole tax on the return, including penalties and interest, even if only one spouse earned the income.

Married filing separately

Married filing separately means each spouse files their own return. The 2026 standard deduction is $16,100, and the brackets are half the joint thresholds, with the 37% rate starting over $384,350. It is usually more expensive than filing jointly, and it blocks several credits and deductions.

It also has a linked rule: if one spouse itemizes on Schedule A, the other must also itemize, even if the standard deduction would be better for them. Couples sometimes choose it anyway, for example when one spouse has large medical expenses or student-loan payments tied to their own income, but it is worth comparing both ways before deciding.

Head of household

Head of household gives a larger standard deduction, $24,150 for 2026, and wider brackets than single, but it has three tests that must all be met. First, you must be unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. Second, you must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year. Third, a qualifying person must have lived with you for more than half the year, although a dependent parent need not live with you.

It is the status most often claimed in error, because the tests are strict. Paying most of the rent is not enough on its own, and neither is having a child who lives elsewhere. All three tests must be met, and the IRS checks this status closely.

Qualifying surviving spouse

Qualifying surviving spouse is available for the two tax years after the year of the spouse's death, only if you have a dependent child living with you and you paid over half the cost of the home. It uses the joint standard deduction of $32,200 for 2026 and the joint tax brackets. In the year of death itself, the surviving spouse files married filing jointly if they did not remarry. After the two years end, the surviving spouse files as single or head of household, whichever fits.

Choosing the right status is worth a few minutes every year, because it changes the standard deduction, the brackets, and the credits available. The IRS Interactive Tax Assistant can help narrow it down, and the figures in this guide are for tax year 2026.

Sources: Internal Revenue Service, IR-2025-103 and Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (2026 standard deductions and brackets), https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2026-including-amendments-from-the-one-big-beautiful-bill; IRS filing status guidance.