New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/13/2013 -- Your filing status is used to determine your filing requirements, standard deduction, eligibility for certain credits and deductions, and your correct tax. There are five filing statuses: Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Head of Household and Qualifying Widow or Widower with Dependent Child. Here are some facts about the five filing status options, so that you can choose the best option for your situation.

“Your marital status on the last day of the year determines your marital status for the entire year.” explained Paul Stanley of eTax.com. “If more than one filing status applies to you, choose the one that gives you the lowest tax obligation.”

Single filing status generally applies to anyone who is unmarried, divorced or legally separated according to state law.

A married couple may file a joint return together. The couple’s filing status would be Married Filing Jointly. If your spouse died last year and you did not remarry last year, usually you may still file a joint return with that spouse for the year of death. A married couple may elect to file their returns separately. Each person’s filing status would generally be Married Filing Separately.

Head of Household generally applies to taxpayers who are unmarried. You must also have paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for you and a qualifying person to qualify for this filing status.

You may be able to choose Qualifying Widow or Widower with Dependent Child as your filing status if your spouse died during either of the last two preceding taxable years, you have a dependent child and you meet certain other conditions.

So be sure to check out what Filing Status is right for you, by visiting “What are my Filing Status options?” on eTax.com

About eTax.com
eTax.com was founded with the goal of helping people prepare and file their tax return quickly, easily and affordably. Since then, eTax.com has grown to become one of the most popular online tax preparation services. For more information about eTax.com, visit http://www.etax.com

Contact:
Paul Stanley
(855)ASK-ETAX