You are very confused. There is no such thing as filing jointly but separate returns.
If you were legally married at the end of 2024 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.
When you file a joint return, all of the information for both spouses goes on only ONE tax return. All your income, all your spouse's income, all of the dependents, all the credits and deductions----all on one return ---and then the refund comes with both names on it.
If you file married filing separately, then you each file your own return and you can split up who claims the child, who uses which deductions, etc. etc and you each enter only your own income on your own return. That takes TWO tax forms and you pay TurboTax twice--once for each return. There are strict rules for MFS----and one of them is that a specific child's SSN can only be on one of your returns.
Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $29,200 (+ $1550 for each spouse 65 or older) for 2024. You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit.
If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return.
Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states: AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)
If you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice since with online, you get one return per fee.
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/should-you-and-your-spouse-file-taxes-jointly-or-separ...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/income/getting-married-mean-taxes/L2Rgma...
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/married-filing-separately-commu...
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
