a. Gary and Lakesha can either file as Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Single.
b. Since Gary and Lakesha are married on January 1 of this year, they should file as Single.
The tax filing status defines the taxpayer's status in a tax year. The tax filing status is used to determine the applicable rate of income tax.
The IRS rules recognize five filing statuses are: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, and qualifying widow(er) with dependent child.
Thus, for a) Gary and Lakesha can file Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Single but for b) Gary and Lakesha should file Single.
Learn more about tax filing status at https://brainly.com/question/25456613