If My wife and I separated on 11/02/2022. Still married, how do I go about making sure Noone else to claim her

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
December 31, 2022
9 replies
46 views

Still married, separated Nov 2nd 2022. How do I make sure Noone else be able to claim her

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Mike9241

Level 15

you can't claim your wife as a dependent. you are still legally married therefore the choices are

1) both of you agree to a joint return (probably would want an independent source to prepare it)

2) each file as married filing separately.

Mike9241

NCperson

Level 15

@bigpoppacg4204.c if you are going to file joint and are worried that someone else will claim her (that is a form of identity theft as that someone else would have to know HER social security number), you can apply for a PIN which would preclude anyone else from efiling a return with her social security number on it. Only the person who knows the PIN (presumably only you) could efile. if the return is paper filed, the IRS is going to closely scrutinize the return because it was submitted without the PIN.

HOWEVER, if you file Separate, that is HER issue and not yours; and I personally would do nothing.

https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin

fanfare

Level 15

a spouse cannot be a dependent so you have nothing to worry about.

@bigpoppacg4204.c

Hal_Al

Level 15

Q. How do I go about making sure No one else claims her.

A. Basically, there is nothing you can do, other than asking her to file a Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) tax return.

If she does not agree, you must file as Married Filing Separately (MFS). You are not allowed to claim a spouse as a dependent. So, whether somebody else claims her doesn't affect your tax return.

If you file MFS, she must also file as MFS (if she has to file at all). Some coordination is needed between you. One thing: if you itemize deductions (instead of the standard deduction), she must also itemize, even if she actually has no deductions. If you live in a community property state, you must allocate your income.

bigpoppacg4204.cAuthor

Level 2

Hi thank you for the response she hasn't worked in 10 years so she won't be filing that's what I'm worried about that if I go ahead and file and put it down as filing together and she winds up going behind my back and getting somebody else to claim her as a dependent isn't that illegal? And we are still married we just been separated for a month out of this whole year so I should be entitled to those taxes