Hello great question!
It is hard to say exactly what is best. If you have student loans and need the loan payment to be based only on your income then many people decide to file married filing separately. If this is not the case and you do not need to show a lower income, then Married Filing Jointly is usually the best way to go.
If you do want to see what is best, you can get Turbotax desktop and enter up to 5 returns in that software. You can try one at Married Filing Jointly and two that are Married FilingSeparately. You can use this link to purchase Turbotax Desktop. https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/
This link talks about Married Filing Jointly vs Married Filing Separately. https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/should-you-and-your-spouse-file-taxes-jointly-or-separ...
You will notice that there are some credits that are not available for Married Filing Separately.
Here are the main highlights:
Couples who file together can usually qualify for multiple tax credits, such as the:
Joint filers mostly receive higher income thresholds for certain taxes and deductions—this means they can often earn a larger amount of income and still potentially qualify for certain tax breaks.
What are the potential cons of filing your tax returns separately?
On the other hand, couples who file separately typically receive fewer tax benefits. Separate tax returns may result in more tax.
- In 2023, Married Filing Separately taxpayers only receive a Standard Deduction of $13,850 compared to the $27,700 offered to those who filed jointly.
- If you file a separate return from your spouse, you are often automatically disqualified from several of the tax deductions and credits mentioned earlier.
- Additionally, separate filers are usually limited to a smaller IRA contribution deduction.
- They also can't take the deduction for student loan interest.
- The capital loss deduction limit is $1,500 each when filing separately, instead of $3,000 on a joint return.
I think once the forgiveness has been settled and you know exactly what is going on with your loans, you will definately want to file Married Filing Jointly.
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Katie S.
Katherine S 63
