# 26 U.S.C. § 7703: Determination of marital status

Source: OLRC release point 119-134 <https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/119-134/t26/s7703>. Cite pinpoints as 26 U.S.C. § 7703(a)(1).

## § 7703(a) General rule

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

**§ 7703(a)(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

**§ 7703(a)(2)** an individual legally separated from his spouse under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance shall not be considered as married.

## § 7703(b) Certain married individuals living apart

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

**§ 7703(b)(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)),

**§ 7703(b)(2)** such individual furnishes over one-half of the cost of maintaining such household during the taxable year, and

**§ 7703(b)(3)** during the last 6 months of the taxable year, such individual’s spouse is not a member of such household,

such individual shall not be considered as married.

## Regulations

- [Treas. Reg. § 1.7703-1](/26/reg/1.7703-1.md): Determination of marital status. (interprets § 7703)

## Leading cases

- [Freyre v. United States, 135 F. App'x 863 (6th Cir. 2005)](https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2972412/freyre-v-united-states/)

## Connections

Cites: § 151 Allowance of deductions for personal exemptions; § 152 Dependent defined

Cited by: § 1 Tax imposed; § 2 Definitions and special rules; § 22 Credit for the elderly and the permanently and totally disabled; § 24 Child tax credit; § 25A American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits; § 32 Earned income; § 36 First-time homebuyer credit; § 36B Refundable credit for coverage under a qualified health plan; § 45AA Military spouse retirement plan eligibility credit for small employers; § 55 Alternative minimum tax imposed; § 62 Adjusted gross income defined; § 63 Taxable income defined; § 86 Social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits; § 135 Income from United States savings bonds used to pay higher education tuition and fees; § 151 Allowance of deductions for personal exemptions; § 152 Dependent defined; § 153 Cross references; § 194 Treatment of reforestation expenditures; § 221 Interest on education loans; § 224 Qualified tips; § 225 Qualified overtime compensation; § 879 Tax treatment of certain community income in the case of nonresident alien individuals; § 1202 Partial exclusion for gain from certain small business stock; § 1398 Rules relating to individuals’ title 11 cases; § 1401 Rate of tax; § 1411 Imposition of tax; § 3101 Rate of tax; § 3402 Income tax collected at source; § 6012 Persons required to make returns of income; § 6103 Confidentiality and disclosure of returns and return information; § 6654 Failure by individual to pay estimated income tax

## 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

- 1986-10-22: [Pub. L. 99-514](/26/act/99-514.md), 100 Stat. 2657
- 1988-11-10: [Pub. L. 100-647](/26/act/100-647.md), 102 Stat. 3592
- 2004-10-04: [Pub. L. 108-311](/26/act/108-311.md), 118 Stat. 1178