MFS in TX (community property state) when only one spouse works

FRESCA — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:50:22 GMT

My husband and I live in TX, which is a community property state, and do MFS. We fill out form 8958, which shows how we combine and split 50/50 our wages, and combine and split 50/50 our federal withholding. We've done this every year. So our respective 1040s effectively each show half of our combined wages, and half of our combined federal withholding. My husband has $0 in wages and $0 (obviously) in federal withholding in 2022, because he retired in 2021. Do we still have to combine/split what is now only my wages? So for example, if I made $100K in wages in 2022, and had $20K withheld... then $50K in wages goes on each 1040, and $10K in federal withholding goes on each 1040? is that correct? This puts us in a lower tax bracket than if I put all of my $100K/$20K on just my 1040, and my husband puts $0 in wages on his 1040. Assuming we both take the standard deduction, then if 100% of my $100K/$20K goes on my taxes, my max tax bracket would be 22% and I owe money to the IRS. But if $50K/$10K goes on each of our 1040's, then our max tax bracket is 12% and we each get refunds. Is it correct that combining/splitting my wages results in better tax treatment? Note, I am deliberately excluding interest/dividends/cap gains...and assuming that ALL we have is my $100K salary, and no other sources of income. Thanks.

Re: MFS in TX (community property state) when only one spouse works

RSUMan — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 23:35:00 GMT

By law, one half of your income belongs to your spouse in the State of Texas.

IRS requires the allocation of income when you file Married Filing Separately.

Just because he has no income, the rules do not change. You allocate as you have done in the past.

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MFS in TX (community property state) when only one spouse works

Re: MFS in TX (community property state) when only one spouse works