Form 1040 (US Individual Income Tax Return) offers five tax filing statuses for US federal tax purposes. Taxpayers can only select one filing status on the return; however, some are eligible for more than one filing status.

The five filing statuses are the following:

Married Filing Joint (MFS) Filing Status

MFS is available to married taxpayers that choose to file taxes separately, or are required to file a separate return. Taxpayers must first determine whether or not they are married for federal tax purposes. Unmarried taxpayers should use Single, HOH, or QSS if available.

Married taxpayers are considered married for federal tax purposes if, on the last day of the tax year, the couple:

  • Were married and lived together;
  • Were married and lived apart but were not legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree;
  • Were common law married under the laws of the state in which they live; or
  • Are the surviving spouse who did not remarry before the end of the tax year.

Taxpayers who meet the above requirements can file a joint return or can choose to file separate tax returns. If married taxpayers decide to separately file their tax returns, the following special rules apply:

  • If one spouse uses the standard deduction, the other spouse must also use the standard deduction. If a spouse wants to claim itemized deductions, the other spouse must also itemize their tax deductions using Schedule A (Itemized Deductions).
  • Federal income tax rates are generally higher for MFS tax returns.
  • The capital loss deduction against ordinary income is limited to $1,500 per return instead of $3,000 for a joint tax return. 
Example MFS Status Available for Newlyweds

John and Jane married each other on October 1, 2023. John and Jane are married and live together at the end of the year; however, they decide to file tax returns separately.

John files his Form 1040 and checks the box for “Married Filing Separately (MFS)”. John reports his separate income and standard deduction. Jane files her own Form 1040 using the MFS filing status, and she also reported her separate income and standard deduction.  

Example MFS Status for Citizen and Nonresident Spouse

Bob and Martha live full-time in the Cayman Islands. Bob is a US citizen, and Martha is a citizen of France. Bob and Martha were married in June 2023. As a US citizen living abroad, Bob must file his annual Form 1040 for the 2023 tax year. He cannot use MFJ because his spouse is a nonresident of the United States. Bob must use the Married Filing Separate (MFS) filing status for 2023.

If Bob and Martha want to file a joint tax return, they can make an election under IRC Section 6013(g) to treat Martha as a resident of the US for federal tax purposes. The election applies to the current tax year and all subsequent tax years until the election is terminated1.

The IRS provides an interactive assistant to help taxpayers determine what tax filing status is available. 

  1. IRC Section 6013(g)(4) ↩︎