If I am filing an amended return to change filing status from married/separate to married/jointly and one of us has already filed, how would I proceed?

[berschbe]

If my spouse has already filed, does my spouse need to file before filing the amended return?

[SweetieJean]

No. The person who already filed just amends to Joint, and adds the other spouse's info and amounts.

[KrisD15]

NO.

You would file an amended return for the spouse that already filed the separate return. The amended return would change the filing status to Married Filing Jointly. 

If your spouse filed separately, and you normally file your social security number first and your spouse as "the spouse", and you want it to stay that way going forward, you would need to file a separate return as well. After you file a separate return, you can amend it. That way YOUR separate return can be the "Amended to Jointly" return. 

The easiest is to simply amend the return which has been filed, but that may change who is listed as the primary Taxpayer going forward in order for the AGI to match IRS records for e-filing. 

 @berschbe

[berschbe]

Just a follow up to this, how would I proceed if we have both already filed separately and need to amend our taxes to change our filing status to jointly?

[LenaH]

If both of you have already filed separately, please see the full instructions on amending to file jointly on the page How do I amend Married Filing Separately returns to Married Filing Jointly?

@berschbe