Your filing status is determined as of December 31st of the year.

Example 1: You get married on December 30th of the year. You cannot file a return using the status “single”.

Example 2: You get divorced in June, and do not remarry by the end of the year. You cannot file a “joint” return with your ex-spouse.

You are never required to file jointly with your spouse. If you are married but do not want to file a “joint” return, the options are to:

  1. File using the status “married filing separate”. However, some tax credits allowed on a “joint” return are disallowed on a “married filing separate” return. So “married filing separate” may result in a higher tax liability.
  2. File using the status “head of household”. This can be used if you lived separate from your spouse for the entire last 6 months of the year and maintained a home/apartment (i.e., made the house/rent payment, paid for the utilities, etc.) in which you and at least one child (or parent) also lived.

Neither the IRS nor Utah recognizes a “common-law” type of marriage. Example: you are not married but cohabitate with another individual for the entire year. You cannot file a “joint” return.