§7703 — Title 26 Internal Revenue Code | U.S. Code

Summary

Decides whether someone counts as married for certain tax rules. Marriage is checked at the end of the tax year. If a spouse dies during the year, use the time of death instead. If a person is legally separated by a court order (divorce or separate maintenance), they are not treated as married. For some parts of the tax code, a married person who files a separate return is looked at under three facts: they keep a home that is the main home of a qualifying child for more than half the year and can claim that child; they pay more than half the cost of running that home; and their spouse did not live in that home during the last 6 months of the year.

Title 26, §7703

Internal Revenue Code — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For purposes of part V of subchapter B of chapter 1 and those provisions of this title which refer to this subsection—

(1)the determination of whether an individual is married shall be made as of the close of his taxable year; except that if his spouse dies during his taxable year such determination shall be made as of the time of such death; and

(2)an individual legally separated from his spouse under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance shall not be considered as married.

(b)For purposes of those provisions of this title which refer to this subsection, if—

(1)an individual who is married (within the meaning of subsection (a)) and who files a separate return maintains as his home a household which constitutes for more than one-half of the taxable year the principal place of abode of a child (within the meaning of section 152(f)(1)) with respect to whom such individual is entitled to a deduction for the taxable year under section 151 (or would be so entitled but for section 152(e)),

(2)such individual furnishes over one-half of the cost of maintaining such household during the taxable year, and

(3)during the last 6 months of the taxable year, such individual’s spouse is not a member of such household,

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Provisions relating to determination of marital status were formerly contained in section 143 of this title, prior to enactment of this section by Pub. L. 99–514.

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 108–311 substituted “152(f)(1)” for “151(c)(3)” and struck out “paragraph (2) or (4) of” before “section 152(e)),”. 1988—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 100–647 substituted “section 151(c)(3)” for “section 151(e)(3)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2004 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 108–311 applicable to taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2004, see section 208 of Pub. L. 108–311, set out as a note under section 2 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1988 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 100–647 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99–514, to which such amendment relates, see section 1019(a) of Pub. L. 100–647, set out as a note under section 1 of this title.

Effective Date

Section applicable to bonds issued after Aug. 15, 1986, except as otherwise provided, see sections 1311 to 1318 of Pub. L. 99–514, set out as an

Effective Date

Transitional Rules note under section 141 of this title.

§7703 Determination of marital status

Summary

Title 26, §7703

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Effective Date

Effective Date

Effective Date

Citations & Metadata