SEE-1 - Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data (16% of the exam) - Section 1.1

Determine the correct filing status for individual taxpayers, including special cases such as qualifying surviving spouse and head of household.

Distinguish the five filing statuses - single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse - and apply the specific residency and dependency conditions each requires. Recognise that an unmarried taxpayer maintaining a home for a qualifying person may use the more favourable head of household rate, not the single rate.

Filing statusHead of householdQualifying surviving spouse

Practice question for this objective

Free samplePreliminary Work and Taxpayer Datamedium

Marcus and Yvette Tran are still legally married on 31 December 2024, but Yvette moved out on 1 February 2024 and the couple lived in separate homes for the rest of the year, with no decree of separate maintenance. Their 9-year-old son lived with Marcus the entire year, and Marcus paid every cost of keeping up that home. Marcus and Yvette do not agree to file a joint return. Which filing status may Marcus use for 2024?

ASingle, because the spouses lived apart for the final six months of the year.
BMarried filing jointly, because the couple were legally married on the last day of the year.
CMarried filing separately, because he is the only filing status available to a still-married taxpayer who will not file jointly.
DHead of household, because he is considered unmarried and a qualifying child lived with him for more than half the year. Correct

Recognise that a married taxpayer living apart from a spouse with a qualifying child may be considered unmarried and qualify for head of household. A married taxpayer is treated as considered unmarried for head of household when they file separately, lived apart from the spouse for the last six months of the year, and paid over half the cost of a home that was a qualifying child's main home for more than half the year. Marital status is otherwise determined on the last day of the year.

Why A is wrong: Single is tempting because the spouses lived apart, but marital status for filing is fixed on the last day of the year, and Marcus was still legally married on 31 December, so Single is unavailable.

Why B is wrong: A joint return is tempting since they were married at year end, but it requires both spouses to agree to file jointly, and the facts state they do not agree, so this status is not available to Marcus alone.

Why C is wrong: Married filing separately is the default for a married taxpayer who will not file jointly, which makes it tempting, but it ignores that a still-married taxpayer who is considered unmarried can instead claim the more favourable head of household.

Why D is correct: He meets all the considered-unmarried conditions: married but living apart from his spouse for the last six months of the year, filing separately, paying more than half the cost of a home that was his qualifying child's main home for more than half the year.

See more SEE-1 practice questions, answers explained.

Exam traps in Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the SEE-1 bank for this domain.

Single, because no qualifying person lived in Harriet's own home during the year.
Why it is wrong: Single is tempting because no one lived with Harriet, but the head of household rules contain a special exception for a dependent parent who need not live in the taxpayer's home, so a better status is available.
She may claim the full standard deduction for married filing separately, because each spouse independently elects how to compute deductions.
Why it is wrong: It is tempting because each spouse files an independent return, but the standard deduction is denied to a separate-filing spouse once the other spouse has itemised.
Qualifying surviving spouse, because he maintained a home for his dependent child all year.
Why it is wrong: Qualifying surviving spouse requires a deceased spouse within the prior two years; Tobias's spouse is living, so this status is unavailable regardless of the home he maintained.

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