The last two years my boyfriend and I have filed jointly. this last year he ran his own business and will be filing his taxes for his business. Can I file alone this year

[Texas Roger]

Unless you were legally married, you were not allowed to file a married filing jointly tax return. Your boyfriend must still file a personal tax return even if he must file a business tax return for his business. A business that is a sole proprietor is filed on a Schedule C that is included in the personal tax return. If you are legally married, you can still file a joint personal return with him.

[jerry2000 · Accepted solution]

Unless you were legally married you can not file jointly. If you were not married and filed as married filing jointly , then you filed a false tax return and that is a federal felony. Good luck!

[SweetieJean]

You must amend those two years to Single.

[josalynn22]

Our previous tax preparer had us file as married but separately on a combined form

[rjs]

@josalynn22 - Please clarify what you did the last two years. In your original question you said you filed jointly. Now you say you filed separately on a combined form. There is no combined form for federal tax returns. That has to be a state tax return.

What state do you live in?
What was the filing status on your federal tax returns for the last two years?
What was the filing status on your state tax returns for the last two years?

[josalynn22]

I checked the forms and it said married filed separately on a joint form. I live in Iowa we've been together for 6 years bought a house together and share bank accounts assuming Iowa has common law is why they suggested we file together.

[Hal_Al]

So, my answer remains the same. Yes, you MAY file "alone", but  filing Married Filing Jointly(MFJ) is still your best choice. If you do file alone, you must use  Married Filing Separately (MFS) status and you husband must use that status too.
 You are not allowed to use   Single or Head of Household Filing Status.

[Hal_Al]

If you have legally filed as Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) in the past, you should continue to do so. One of you having a business does not change that from being your best way to file. You may be able to file as Married Filing Jointly if you live in a state that recognizes common law marriage (see below). If you qualify to file as MFJ, then you must file as either MFJ or Married Filing Separately (MFS). You may not switch to Single or Head of Household Filing Status.

Currently, the following jurisdictions recognize common law marriage:

 Alabama (if entered into before 1-1-2017)

 Colorado

 District of Columbia

 Iowa

 Kansas

 Montana

 New Hampshire

 Oklahoma

 Rhode Island

 South Carolina

 Texas

 Utah

Alabama (2017), Georgia(1997), Idaho(1996), Ohio(Oct. 1991), and Pennsylvania(2005) are grandfathered for the marriages before the year indicated. Living together in a common law state is usually insufficient - you need to hold yourself out as married including owning property together, having joint bank accounts, etc. To find out your state’s rules see:

http://family.findlaw.com/marriage/common-law-marriage-states.html