Chapter 8: Individual Income Tax Computation and Tax Credits
Tax bracket
Each separate range of income subject to a different tax rate
Married filing jointly
The taxpayer is legally married as of the end of the year (or one
spouse died during the year and the surviving spouse did not
remarry) and both agree to jointly file
Qualifying widow or widower (surviving spouse)
Applies for up to 2 years after the year in which the
taxpayer's spouse dies as long as the taxpayer
remains unmarried and maintains a household for
a dependent child
Married filing separately
When married couples file separately, each
spouse reports the income he/she received
during the year and the deductions he/she
paid on a tax return separate from the other
spouse
Head of household
The taxpayer is unmarried as of the end of the year and pays more than half of the cost to maintain a
household for a qualifying person who lives with the taxpayer for more than half of the year
Single
The taxpayer is unmarried as of the end of the year and
does not qualify for any of the other filing statuses