I have been separated (not legally) for over 15 years, but still married and own a home with my wife. Because we are still married with no legal separation, have a child and own a home, we have always filed jointly so that we can claim our child, the mortgage interest and property taxes. This year it was looking like I may owe money due to my wife claiming higher exemptions throughout the year. Just to see what the difference would be, I prepared a separate tax return for my wife as 'Married Filing Separately, letting her claim our child (I will claim the mortgage interest and property taxes). After answering the questions in the personal information section, Turbo Tax recommended the status of Head of Household for my wife which turned out to make a big difference (a refund as opposed to owing money). Not knowing any more than the basics when it comes to taxes, I wanted to confirm that this is correct. My wife and I have lived separately for 16 years. Our child lives in the house with her. Although we split the mortgage, my wife pays for the utilities, groceries, etc for that household. My questions are: 1.) Do you agree that the situation as described would qualify her for Head of Household status? 2.)Although almost everything I've read on the subject states that Married Filing Jointly almost always results in a bigger refund that Married Filing Separately, does it make sense that MFS/HOH is actually the better way to go? 3.) Is it ok that I claim all of the mortgage interest and property tax on our house as long as she's ok with it (she is)? Not sure if we have to split it evenly by law....any assistance with these questions would be greatly appreciated....thanks so much!
