My wife and I did not live together at all during 2012. We are undergoing divorce proceedings that were not completed as of 12/31/12. The temporary court order in place since 2011 established that we each have 1 tax deduction as we have 2 children.

As I provided over half of their support and she did not live with me at all during the year, I believe I can file head of household. If I file head of household can I itemize deductions and if I do so can she file as Married Filing Separately and take the standard deduction? Or would she also need to itemize?

I have almost $20k of itemized deductions for mortgage interest, real estate taxes, charitable contributions that were paid solely out of my income.

“As I provided over half of their support and she did not live with me at all during the year, I believe I can file head of household. “======>I guess so.each of you cal also fiel as HOH if she also provided over half of one of the chidren’s support and she did not live with you for more than 6 months during the year.
“If I file head of household can I itemize deductions and?====>Yes on Sch A of 1040. Head of household filers who are eligible to itemize their deductions(or take std deduction when std dedu>itemized dedu) are generally able to claim a total deduction that is greater than the standard deduction. You are eligible to itemize when your potentially eligible expenses for the year in total exceed the standard deduction amount for your filing status.

“if I do so can she file as Married Filing Separately and take the standard deduction Or would she also need to itemize?”=======>As far as I know , you file your return as HOH and itemize deductions on Sch A of 1040 then she files her return as MFS then she needs to itemize her deductions; ALSO if you qualify for head of household status, you can take the standard deduction even if your spouse itemizes/takes std deduction; the HOH spouse's decision to itemize controls the MFS spouse, but the HOH spouse's decision to take a standard ded does not control the MFS spouse)


“I have almost $20k of itemized deductions for mortgage interest, real estate taxes, charitable contributions that were paid solely out of my income.”=====>Then you need to file your return as HOH to enjoy lower tax rate and yu can itemize deduction to reduce your tax liability to pay lower tax liability.