Host: What does single status mean on a tax return?

Aurthur Auerbach: Single means that as of December, 31st of the year in question you are not married or you may have been married during the year and during that tax year or a prior year there was a Divorce Decree signed by a Court or some Separation Agreement signed by a Court. So you are officially separated as of the end of the year that means you have the ability to file as a single individual as long as there are no dependent children. Then we will get to head of household in another segment or in other question. But generally, that's single. The illustration that is going to come up again in a few minutes, it's unfortunate if you are a parent and your children decide to get married on December, 31st because if they do that you lose the Dependency Exemption because they can file jointly with their new spouse. They are not single anymore; they are not your dependent anymore. So it's really important to know that December 31st determines your status for tax purposes.