As mentioned in a previous post, you will often find the determination of the filing status for married taxpayers to be straightforward. However, there are some wrinkles that the exam might require you to know.
Whether a marriage is recognized is determined by state law in the state the marriage began. If valid in the state where the marriage began, the marriage continues to be recognized for federal tax purposes even if the couple moves to another state, Of course, the most common example of this is common-law marriages.
Pursuant to the Defense of Marriage Act, for federal tax purposes, marriage is the legal union between a man and a woman. Same sex couples whose union is recognized under state law, cannot file as married on the federal return.
Same as with recognition of the beginning of a marriage, state law is also determinative when considering when a marriage ends. For federal tax purposes, taxpayers for whom a decree of divorce, or a decree of separate maintenance has been issued, are no longer considered married.
An annulment requires the filing of amended returns to change filing status to an unmarried filing status from a married filing status. In other words, as if a marriage never existed. When amending returns for the filing status of married taxpayers, couples can change from married filing separate to married filing joint, but cannot change from married filing joint to married filing separate (unless done so before due date)
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