So you used her ssn on your "Joint" return? She was filing Single, right? She will have to print and mail her return. You need to amend your return to Single.
You should not amend until the first return has fully processed and you get the first refund or your tax due payment has cleared.
How to amend 2020 return
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/amending/help/how-do-i-amend-my-return/00/27439
Since you already filed a joint return with your partner, she cannot just file a single return. The joint return that you filed was for both of you, so she has already filed a tax return. You and she both have to file amended returns. But amending from a joint return to two separate returns is a difficult and complicated process. You can't just file a normal amended return.
Normally you are not allowed to amend from a joint return to separate returns after the original due date of the return. "Separate returns" means anything other than joint, including single or head of household. If you just file normal amended returns, the IRS will send them back to you without processing them, saying that you cannot amend from joint to single. But your situation is an exception to the general rule, since you were not married. Your joint tax return is what is called an "invalid joint election." You have to amend the incorrect joint return, but a special procedure has to be followed, and there are complicated rules for additional documents and information that have to be submitted with the amended return.
This is a very uncommon situation, and it's a very obscure part of the tax rules. You will need to have a tax professional prepare your amended returns with the attachments that the IRS requires. You probably won't even find a tax pro who is familiar with this particular situation - it doesn't come up very often - but look for someone who has experience dealing with the IRS in unusual cases. You can tell the tax pro to refer to IRM 21.6.1.5.7, which is the section of the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) that covers an invalid joint election. When you meet with the tax pro, bring a copy of the joint tax return that you filed.
"Normally you are not allowed to amend from a joint return to separate returns after the original due date of the return. "Separate returns" means anything other than joint, including single or head of household."
no amend from a joint return to separate means changing your filing status to MFS.
in this case, the amend is from Married (MFJ) to Single.
You don't need a lawyer or other professional.
IRM 21.6.1.5.5(1) says (emphasis added):
"Married taxpayers may file separate returns such as married filing separately, head of household, or single on or before the due date of their originally filed married filing joint return. . . ."
What is your source for the statement that "separate returns" means only married filing separately, particularly in the context of an invalid joint election?
But wouldn't it matter if they are not married? That starts off by saying "Married taxpayers may........"
@VolvoGirl wrote:
But wouldn't it matter if they are not married?
No, it doesn't matter. In IRS-speak, "separate returns" always means anything other than a joint return. I was just pointing out the explanation of what "separate returns" means. The term "separate returns" normally only comes up in relation to married taxpayers, because only married taxpayers have the option to file a joint return. Single taxpayers always file a separate return for each person (or at least they're supposed to), so there's no need to make a distinction between joint and separate. But when you are dealing with taxpayers who are not married, but improperly filed a joint return, the phrase has the same meaning.
The IRS causes a lot of confusion because they frequently use the term "separate returns" without clearly explaining it. I saw a recent online discussion among tax professionals that involved an IRS ruling about one spouse filing "a separate return with head of household status." A lot of the tax pros were confused by the use of the term "separate return" for something other than MFS. Apparently it's part of standard internal IRS jargon that "separate returns" means anything other than joint, but outside the IRS the meaning is not widely understood, even among tax professionals.