https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/under-what-instance-would-i-file-married-with-single-rate/01/444049#M182498 Tue, 04 Jun 2019 22:32:24 GMT smokin13s 2019-06-04T22:32:24Z https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/under-what-instance-would-i-file-married-with-single-rate/01/444049#M182498 Tue, 04 Jun 2019 22:32:24 GMT https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/under-what-instance-would-i-file-married-with-single-rate/01/444049#M182498 smokin13s 2019-06-04T22:32:24Z https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/there-is-no-such-thing-as-married-with-single-rate-if/01/444054#M182500 <P> </P><P>There is no such thing as "married with single rate".&nbsp; If you are married you either file using the Married Filing Jointly filing status (both spouses include all income and expenses in one return) or Married Filing Separately.</P><P>It is uncommon that MFS is a better choice than MFJ. Many of the people who believe they are better off MFS think that because they are not preparing their returns properly. </P><P> </P><P><BR /> The "Married Filing Separately" filing status carries higher tax rates than the “Married Filing Jointly” filing status.&nbsp; Also, many deductions and credits that are available to MFJ filers are not available to MFS filers. Three well-known such items that are not available to MFS filers are the Earned Income Credit,&nbsp; the Child and Dependent Care Credit and any of the education deduction/credits (American Opportunity, Lifetime Learning, Tuition and Fees Deduction).</P><P> </P><P> <SPAN>Additionally, if one spouse itemizes deductions, the other spouse must also itemize deductions and is precluded from using the standard deduction.<BR /> <BR /> People usually use MFS when they can't agree to file jointly. Occasionally, the right combination of situations will create a smaller total tax than on a joint return, such as when one spouse has significant medical expenses, but it's rare.<BR /> <BR /> About the only advantage to filing separately is that one spouse is not responsible for what's on the other's return (including the tax).</SPAN> </P><P> </P><P>Regarding that last comment, you can still use the MFJ filing status and include a Form 8379 Injured Spouse Claim with your return.&nbsp; This protects any refund of one spouse in a joint return from being used to satisfy the debts and/or obligations of the other spouse.&nbsp; The Form 8379 is included within TurboTax under Federal Taxes, Other.</P><P> </P><P>I am told that married persons filing tax returns in Ohio may be able to benefit from filing their Federal returns separately to significantly reduce their state tax obligations.&nbsp; Ohio filers should take this into consideration in evaluating the above comments.</P><P> </P><P>&nbsp;</P><P> <BR /></P> Tue, 04 Jun 2019 22:32:25 GMT https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/there-is-no-such-thing-as-married-with-single-rate-if/01/444054#M182500 Howard1948 2019-06-04T22:32:25Z