topic My wife and I were legally separated all year last year with intent to divorce. Would it be best for us to file Married Filing Separately or Married Filing Jointly? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

My wife and I were legally separated all year last year with intent to divorce. Would it be best for us to file Married Filing Separately or Married Filing Jointly?

dllazarus — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:50:20 GMT

We have all of our finances separate except for the mortgage which is still under both of our names.

Re: My wife and I were legally separated all year last year with intent to divorce. Would it be b...

TeresaM — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 21:45:05 GMT

If you are in a community property state, you would be required to have any common income split equally if you file separately. They are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

If you are not in a community property state, you have more flexibility but there are still some tax credits that will only be available if you file jointly. You may wish to mock up a return each way and see which would be most beneficial with your situation.

This TurboTax Help article gives some examples of differences in filing married separately or jointly.

Re: My wife and I were legally separated all year last year with intent to divorce. Would it be b...

dllazarus — Fri, 10 Feb 2023 23:21:26 GMT

OK. Thanks. We were married in and got separated in Virginia. Nevertheless, I agree that filing jointly would likely be most beneficial to both of us.

Thanks,

David