Taxpayer Who Didn’t Meet Common-Law-Marriage Test Had to Use Single Filing Status

While a taxpayer satisfied four of the five elements of Oklahoma’s common-law-marriage test, there was no evidence that he and his live-in girlfriend held themselves out as married in any formal settings and, thus, his filing status was single. The taxpayer was, however, entitled to a dependency exemption deduction for his girlfriend; but no dependency exemption deductions or child tax credits were allowed for the girlfriend’s daughter and granddaughter. Morris v. Comm’r, T.C. Summary 2016-6