Generally, filing
jointly will give you a bigger refund or less taxes due. When you file
separately, your tax rate is higher and you won't be able to claim:
On top of that, if
you live in the community property states of Arizona, California, Idaho,
Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, you have to
deal with community
property allocations and adjustments, which adds extra work and complexity
to your tax preparation chores.
NOTE:
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, or deductions for student
loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be
taxable. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and
dependent care credit. If you live in a community property state, you
will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s
income. If you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you
will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice.
