My question involves a 2009 tax return in the state of WI. My husband and I lived together from the beginning of 2009 until he moved out in march of 09. He payed my rent for april may and june, in late june, myself and my daughter moved in with my mother temporarily, from late june until october of 09. October of 09 through december of 09, I had my own apt, with my daughter. My ex served me divorce papers, our divorce was not finalized in 09. When I filed my taxes for 09, my tax preparer filed me as head of household. Was this correct since we were still legally married? Can this be amended if it is wrong?

“My ex served me divorce papers, our divorce was not finalized in 09. When I filed my taxes for 09, my tax preparer filed me as head of household. Was this correct since we were still legally married? “------>You can claim the HOH filing status on your tax return if you are unmarried OR "considered unmarried(you are considered unmarried for tax purposes if on the last of the year 2009, you were: legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree, or married but lived apart from your spouse for at least the last six months of the year 2009; have cared for a dependent, your daughter(your qualifying person,quali child , I mean), for over half the year,2009(as you said, daughter moved in with my mother temporarily, from late june until october of 09. October of 09 through december of 09;your daughter lived with you for over half the yearo f 2009) and paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home(your home was the main home for your child for more than half the year); TPs claiming the Head of Household filing status benefit from a higher standard deduction and lower tax rates compared to the single and MFS filing statuses.
ALSO, AS LONG AS you could CLAIM your mother as your dependent on your 2009 return, then you didn’t not need tolive with your daughter for over half the year of 2009. If your mother's gross income was more than $3,650 you cannot claim her as a dependent. Once you could claim your mother as your deepdnendst, then your mother also didn’t have to live with you for over half the year of 2009.
“Can this be amended if it is wrong?”------>You may still be able to benefit by amending your 2009 return. If you originally filed as married filing separately, you could amend your return to head of household status.If you qualify for head of household filing you have three years from the due date of the return to file an amended return for a refund.