Partner Gets SSI/SSDI

[Allijayj]

I receive SSI and SSDI. We got married last May. This will be our first year filing and it is super confusing. When I changed my name, I submitted my partners tax return to Social Security so everything has been reported to them. Is it better to file separately or together? My partner usually gets a refund and we were considering filing separately because of SSDI being taxable up to a certain amount of income ($24,000) I think  and we thought he might lose the refund since he is in a high tax bracket. Honestly confused on what that means.  Is it beneficial to get taxed on the SSDI because of the benefits from filing jointly? Jointly we are in the bracket that 85% of SSDI is taxable. One last question, how much would a 1099 on my part affect our taxes? 

[xmasbaby0]

File a joint return.   If you file married filing separately MORE of the SS will be taxable.

If you were legally married at the end of 2023 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

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 $27,700 (+$1500 for each spouse 65 or older)  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://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

We do not know what kind of 1099 you are asking about.  There are over a dozen kinds of 1099's, including 1099NEC for self-employment, 1099R for retirement income, 1099B for investments, 1099INT for interest, etc etc etc.