@Prisonwife wrote:
i do also have T’s permission to file MFJ electronically, I just didn’t know if I can just do it.
also T and I, we do not have any joint accounts. He hasn’t had a bank account in almost ten years as he worked for his step dad (who is a small construction demo business owner) And received cash payments, and a 1099 for 2021 and for the Corona Virus stimulus checks, he received paper checks in the mail. We had a lease agreement together (and an attempted eviction that was resolved) that was the only thing we shared as in legal documents prior to his sentencing but I moved out last august when the lease was up.
Don't file a married return with T unless you get your situation reviewed by an attorney to make sure you are not married to K, and to make sure you meet the legal requirements to be married to T. You must be legally married to T as of December 31, 2022 (last year) to file a joint 2022 return. Filing a declaration with the county in 2023 will not make you married in 2022. You would have to be married under the other rules (living together, telling people you are married, not married to anyone else).
If you file a joint return, the IRS will either deposit the check into a joint account, or issue a paper check in both names. To deposit a paper check with two names into only your account, you would need to go to the prison and get T to sign the check over to you. I believe that if you use form 8888 to direct your refund into two different accounts, it will work if each account is in one name. However, if there is a problem with the split, the IRS will either do the deposit into the first account only, or they will send a paper check.
