@dark0108 wrote:
Apologies for my ignorance but may you expand and re-explain 1)? So do not file a joint return and file separately or vice versa?
All the details are here, although it helps to have someone interpret it for you.
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501
Generally, if you file a joint tax return with your spouse, then his father can't claim either of you, unless the only reason you file a joint return is to claim a refund of withholding and don't claim any other credits, deductions or benefits. In that way, you the married couple have final say in most cases.
If you don't file a joint return, then his father considers whether each of you could be claimed as a dependent based on the normal rules. The father can claim his son as a qualifying child dependent if the son:
1. is under age 19, or under age 24 and also a full time student, and
2. the son does not earn more than half his own support.
The father can claim the son as a qualifying relative dependent if,
1. the father provides more than half the son's total support, and
2. the son has less than $4300 of taxable income.
The father can claim you as a qualifying relative dependent if,
1. the father provides more than half your total support, and
2. you have less than $4300 of taxable income, and
3. you lived in the father's home the entire year.
(You can't be a qualifying child dependent of your spouse's father. You must live in the father's home the entire year but the son does not.)
This leads to several options.
a. you file jointly and the father can't claim either one of you
b. your spouse files MFS and is claimed as a dependent, you file MFS and are not a dependent
c. your spouse files MFS and is claimed as a dependent, you file MFS and are claimed as a dependent
Which is best overall depends on your particular financial circumstances. But as first mentioned, if you file a joint return, you will in most cases, block his father from claiming either one of you.
