Federal filing status generally follows marital status on December 31. A taxpayer whose spouse died during the
tax year may generally file jointly for that year if otherwise eligible and not remarried. For certain HOH situations, a
married taxpayer may be treated as unmarried if, among other conditions, the spouse did not live in the home
during the last six months of the year, the taxpayer paid more than half the home costs, and the home was the
main home of a qualifying child for more than half the year. Review all statutory tests and exceptions; temporary
absences can count differently from living apart