Get your taxes done using TurboTax

You could certainly file as married filing separately. However, there are several credits that are not available with this filing status including the Earned Income Tax Credit and Student Loan Interest deduction.

If you would like to file jointly for federal purposes but file separately on your state return, you can do this using TurboTax. Please see the steps below. 

First, make sure your state will allow you to file separately even though you filed a joint federal return.

Next, TurboTax recommends that you use the desktop version of TurboTax to prepare your returns. This allows you to prepare separate state returns without paying an additional fee. (The desktop version allows you to file up to 5 returns.) Please see this TurboTax Article for information on how to transfer your online return to the desktop version.

Please follow these steps to file a joint federal and separate state returns:

1. Prepare one married filing jointly return to file with the IRS.
2. Prepare a "mock" married filing separate return for each taxpayer. Note: You will not file this. It is for your records only, and will be used to generate separate state returns for each person.
3. Then for the first taxpayer (Taxpayer 1), label and use the first "mock" married filing separate federal return to prepare Taxpayer 1's state married filing separate return. Use only Taxpayer 1's income and half of the deductions from the married filing jointly federal return.
4. This ensures that TurboTax only transfers the first taxpayer's income to their married filing separate state return.
5. File this married filing separate STATE return, not the mock federal return that it pulls the information from.
6. For the second taxpayer or spouse (Taxpayer 2), label and use the second "mock" married filing separate federal return to prepare Taxpayer 2's state married filing separate return. Again, use only Taxpayer 2's income and half of the deductions from the married filing jointly federal return.
7. File the second married filing separate STATE return, not the second mock federal return that it pulls the information from.

For additional information, please see this TurboTax Help Article.

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