- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Get your taxes done using TurboTax
You can, however both spouses must choose the same deduction category; standard or itemized. If you itemize and take all the deductions then your spouse must itemize and may have zero deductions. You could also both take the standard. You should compare to see which offers the best overall tax benefit. You could even split the deductions in another manner to give some deductions to the lower income spouse.
You should also compare the tax savings for filing jointly vs the savings for the student loan and filing separately.
A TurboTax desktop product works best to make all these comparisons. Here is a link with steps to make comparison returns.
Additionally, if you are in a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin) then usually you must add your community income (normally wages/salaries) together and then split 50/50 on the tax returns.
Here is a link with more information on filing separately in a community property state, if applicable.
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"