Can a Person Select Single for Withholding Purposes Even Though They Are Married?

Choosing the correct marital status when filing your income tax return is a key part of determining how much tax you’ll have to pay. If you don’t neatly fit into only one filing category, the IRS gives you a break – you’re allowed to file under the marital status that results in paying a lower tax. Regardless of your marital status during most of the tax year, you must file your return based on whether you were single or married on Dec. 31.

Determine Your Legal Filing Status

Some states consider you “unmarried” before you are actually divorced if a court grants you a decree of separation maintenance. The IRS honors state laws by allowing you to claim the single status on your tax return (or head of household) if your state laws qualify you for this status.

Even if you receive a decree of separation maintenance on Dec. 31, you can choose the single filing status for that tax year. And even though you may consider yourself unmarried if you're separated from your spouse, you must still file as married unless your state recognizes legal separations.

You may also file as single if you or your spouse is a nonresident alien and the spouse who is the nonresident alien has not been formerly treated as a resident alien.

W-4 Withholding Exceptions

If you look at Line 3 of your W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate), you’ll see three boxes from which to choose your tax withholding rate: single, married and married but withhold at higher single rate. By checking this third box, you are not filing as a single person; you’re filing as a married person who wishes more tax withheld from each paycheck than if you filed as married.

Some taxpayers choose this third option when they find that the withholding from each paycheck is not enough to meet their tax liability when they file their returns. This typically happens when both spouses work and each has similar incomes.

Adjusting Your Withholding Amount

Regardless of your marital status, the IRS recommends performing a "paycheck checkup" to make sure you are minimizing your tax liability. Along with marital status, your income, number of dependents and allowable deductions are some of the key pieces of the tax liability puzzle that determine your tax liability.

Visit IRS.gov and enter "tax withholding calculator" in the search field. Follow the prompts to access this online tool.

2019 Tax Law Standard Deductions

If you’re still legally married but separated from your spouse, you can file your tax return as “married filing jointly” or “married filing separately" unless you live in a state that recognizes your legally separated status as single. The standard deductions for tax year 2019 are $24,400 (married filing jointly and qualifying widow[er]), $12,200 (married filing separately and single) and $18,350 (head of household).

If you’re unsure of which choice is best for you, you can visit IRS.gov to review or download the checklists in the instructions for IRS 1040.

2018 Tax Law Standard Deductions

The standard deductions for tax year 2019 are $24,000 (married filing jointly and qualifying widow[er]), $12,000 (married filing separately and single) and $18,000 (head of household).