Common law marriage and divorce in taxes

[himystie]

My boyfriends divorce was filed in May of 1998 and finalized in Jan 2001. He and I met in Feb 2000 and have been living together since and plan to marry in March. Can we file Married filing jointly. (I have no income) If not we will have to pay $1007. What should we do?

[wowie]

I am not an attorney and not a CPA. . .

I would say that you would have to go by the date that his divorce became final. In that case, most common law marriages require living together or having a residence together for a number of years before you are considered "married" I would say based on what you said that you have not met that criteria, but you could still check with your state legislation.

Also, if your boyfriend provided over 50% of your support and you lived in his residence, he could still claim you as a dependant as long as you don't claim yourself. I would check our that option.