[header] How to determine your tax filing status [title] Choose single if you are unmarried. [step] Generally, you can file as single if you meet any of the following requirements : [substeps] You've never been married. You've been legally separated according to your state law, e.g., by getting divorced. 
However, your divorce must be final by the end of the tax year. You were widowed before the start of the tax year and haven't remarried before the end of the year.