§ 7703. Determination of marital status

• (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,