Ok so according to TDCJ my ‘husband’ and I are ‘common law’ married since we were together two years and some months before he was incarcerated;
Last year, however, I filed as single since it was the first year filing without my ex after nine years of doing taxes with my ex as MFJ. My ex and I were never ‘legally’ married either though.
Note this came back to haunt me when I enrolled in college this past fall because they used my 2020 return showing both my ex and I and to get FAFSA aid it was a circus basically to prove that we weren’t together anymore since I am no longer in contact with him.
So I guess I have four questions,
- -first one being my current ’husband’ has been incarcerated since 12/2021 on a three year sentence, soo he spent the entirety of 2022 locked up and we both filed last year as single so would they look at it odd that even though he was locked up all of sudden he’s doing a joint return? or would that not matter since prisoners get married all the time while serving their sentence.
- -second, how would this affect my return this year since he’s got zero income because Texas prisoners do not get paid when they work at all? Like would it also deny me getting the eitc since he’s not eligible if I file as MFJ? is the tax credits I’d get as filing MFJ likely to get me a substantial difference in my return this year?
- -third, do you think it’d affect my fafsa in a negative way later down the line even though since he’s not working technically I wouldn’t have the same issue I previously had as my ex made three times my income this year (that’s what disqualified me from fafsa as I stated above)
- the final question, are the POA and secondary forms I’d mail in after submitting the efile 100% necessary? Or I can work with a verbal agreement from my husband and just efile that way? If they are necessary, he needs to sign them too or that’s what the 8423(?) form is for, saying that he agrees to have me fill out everything and then he doesn’t need to sign them to irl to give me temporary POA?
Hope this makes sense and you can help!
