Spouses’ tax returns are related. Spouses have a number of ways to reduce taxes by splitting income, deductions and credits so it is important that spouses’ tax returns are filed together. This will ensure that you are not missing out on any information from your spouse’s tax return that could cause you to file an incorrect tax return.
On your tax return, you are required to report what your marital status was as of December 31st of the tax year. This is done by selecting the appropriate status on your return: Married, Living Common-Law, Widowed, Divorced, Separated, Single.