Can my husband and I amend our separate returns after the deadline in order to each itemize? He took standard too quickly, now I will lose $2k by taking standard.

[kara-s-graves]

We are married but file separately. We've always done standard deductions, so my husband chose that when he filed. Afterward, I discovered that if I itemize, my refund will be over $2k more, which is far more than he will lose by switching to itemized. Can I file itemizing now, then he amend later? He isn't able to amend now via Turbotax even though his return is already accepted.

[SusanY1]

He can amend and mail in the amendment after his original return is processed.  Keep in mind that he will have to itemize even if his deduction is lower than the standard deduction.

[xmasbaby0]

Having your spouse amend to get you a bigger refund means he has to itemize too, even if he does not have enough itemized deductions to exceed his standard deduction.  So he could be thrown under the bus of getting even less of a deduction than his standard deduction.

Have the two of you looked at filing jointly?

If you were legally married at the end of 2019 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $24,400 (+$1300 for each spouse 65 or older)  You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit.

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return. Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...