Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §5124-A, as amended by PL 1989, c. 596, Pt. J, §7, is further amended to read:

§5124-A. Standard deduction; resident

The standard deduction of resident taxpayers shall filing as single individuals or who are married persons filing separate returns must conform to the allowable federal standard deduction of the taxpayer. The standard deduction for resident taxpayers filing married joint returns or who are surviving spouses permitted to file joint returns, the standard deduction is twice the amount permitted for single individuals.__For resident taxpayers who are unmarried individuals or legally separated individuals who qualify as heads of households, the standard deduction is 150% of the amount permitted for single individuals.

SUMMARY

This bill provides that the standard deduction for married persons filing joint returns and surviving spouses is twice the amount for persons filing as single individuals or married persons filing separately. The standard deduction for heads of households is 150% of the amount for single individuals.