Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?

ccassels9117 — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:51:34 GMT

Re: Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?

TomK2023 — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:02:32 GMT

No. You can only file Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.

Re: Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?

xmasbaby0 — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:05:37 GMT

No. Even if you said "I do" on December 31, your filing choices for 2023 are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

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-separately

Best Wishes!

Re: Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?

Mike9241 — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 17:10:35 GMT

if you were married at the end of 2023 and you and your spouse did not live apart for the last 6 months

then the choice is between filing a joint return (MFJ) and each of you filing a return using Married Filing Separately as the status. Single is not allowed.

filing jointly would probably produce the lowest taxes as compared to MFS.

topic Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?

Re: Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?

Re: Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?

Re: Can I file single this year as I always have, if I married in May?