topic We're in a community property state and separated early 2018. My husband pays most bills while I finish grad school. Can I file Separately and him Head of Household? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

We're in a community property state and separated early 2018. My husband pays most bills while I finish grad school. Can I file Separately and him Head of Household?

kimmie18-0 — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 19:19:08 GMT

We live in Texas and I moved out in May 2018 and have separate apartment. He pays our house and most bills, while I finish graduate school. Can I file married filing separately and he as Head of Household? Do I need to claim half his income in a community property state?

If you're in a community property state, you're supposed...

rainydaze — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 19:19:09 GMT

If you're in a community property state, you're supposed to split your incomes. Rarely does a properly done MFS return come out better than filing a joint return. Also, your spouse cannot file as HOH without a qualifying dependent (in most cases, a child). Unless he has a qualifying dependent, you may want to consider filing a joint return (unless you're legally separated by the laws in your state; in which you would "split" the income up to the date of separation). Otherwise you both must file a separate return using the MFS filing status.