There’s a lot to consider here.
First, if you husband hasn’t filed a return in 10 years
because he hasn’t had a filing requirement for those years – that is, he
hasn’t had enough income to be required to file – then his non-filing shouldn’t
have any bearing on what filing status you use.
The IRS has an interactive tool that’ll help you see if there’s a filing
requirement for the last three years at Do I Need to
File a Tax Return?.
However, if your husband hasn’t filed for those years but had
a filing requirement, and could have IRS tax debts related to
non-filing, then filing separately might be a good option. See the “Why
would I want to file separately?” link in the TurboTax FAQ, below.
But generally speaking, filing your federal return jointly will
provide larger overall benefits, lower your taxes, and make you eligible for
more credits compare to if each of you filed separately. In your case, for example, filing jointly may
allow you to claim Child and Dependent Care Expenses, and may increase any Child
Tax Credit to which you’re entitle.
However, a number of variables could apply. Please see the TurboTax FAQ below, paying
particular attention to the “Want to
Compare?” and “Why would I want to
file separately?” links.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3288477
