@hujor123 wrote:
I have the exact same question. My income is way lower than my partner. If I file MFS with our dependents, I can get full stimulus check (me+2 dependents). If we file MFJ like we did in the past years, we'll get much smaller stimulus check amount. MFS seems to be a better filing strategy this year. My partner has used around $2300 FSA, but it looks like he can't make it tax exclusion without claiming a dependent. Wonder if there is a solution in TT.
There is no solution in Turbotax because there is no solution in the tax laws. If you are married and live together, you can't "split" the dependent (spouse 1 claimed dependent for the rebate and spouse 2 claims the dependent to qualify for the FSA). The spouse who claims the child claims all the benefits that child might entitle them to, and the other spouse does not even list the child on their tax return.
If you were separated from the other parent for all of the last 6 months of the year (from July 1 onward) then the parent who had actual physical custody more than half the days of the year can use the child to qualify for the FSA exclusion, and either parent can claim the child for the child tax credit and rebate. But this is not allowed if you are not separated for all of the last 6 months of the year.
