Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have any outstanding medical bills or and itemized deductions

rawierman — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:48:38 GMT

Re: Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have any outstanding medical bills or and itemized deductions

DoninGA — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 20:16:09 GMT

Yes, you should file as Married Filing Jointly even if one spouse has little or no income.

Re: Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have...

ThomasM125 — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 20:23:10 GMT

It's not possible to give you a definitive answer on that except to say often you pay less tax at least on the federal return if you file married-joint. You may loose certain tax credits such as the earned income credit and education credits if you file separately and your tax rate may be higher. The best course of action would be to prepare the return both ways to know for sure which is best.

Re: Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have any outstanding medical bills or and itemized deductions

xmasbaby0 — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 20:40:16 GMT

If you were legally married at the end of 2024 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 $29,200 (+ $1550 for each spouse 65 or older) for 2024. 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://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/should-you-and-your-spouse-file-taxes-jointly-or-separately/L7gyjnqyM?srsltid=AfmBOopGqCNexowW0pYgvsf7ycIkrx4VjO_63UXv6vSnfu3UEGQiKQTh

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/income/getting-married-mean-taxes/L2RgmagpE_US_en_US?uid=m69on7t0

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/married-filing-separately-community-property/L11CeLUMs_US_en_US?uid=m69ousyh

topic Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have any outstanding medical bills or and itemized deductions in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have any outstanding medical bills or and itemized deductions

Re: Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have any outstanding medical bills or and itemized deductions

Re: Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have...

Re: Should I file jointly with my spouse if their income is less than half of mine? We don't have any outstanding medical bills or and itemized deductions