I didn't follow all of that and can't address your situation but you can choose to file Married filing Separate or Joint any year. You can even switch each year. But Joint should be better.
Heres some info you might not be aware of.....
Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction. And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out. Here's some things to consider about filing separately……
In the first place you each have to file a separate return, so that's two returns. And if you are using the Online version that means using 2 accounts and paying the fees twice.
Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separate but they are probably doing it wrong. If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction, even if it is ZERO!
And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the
EITC Earned Income Tax Credit
Child Care Credit
Educational Deductions and Credits
And contributions to IRA and ROTH IRA are limited when you file MFS.
Also if you file Married Filing Separately up to 85`% of your Social Security becomes taxable right away even with zero other income.
See …….
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-...
You might be able to file Joint federal and separate for state. Depends on the state. That is tricky to do but possible.
