Just got married

[Robinson4]

We just got married in October and I’m a stay at homewife, I haven’t worked in a few years. We have two children. Should we file jointly and what would be the benefit? Break it down money wise.

[xmasbaby0]

If you were legally married at the end of 2019 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 $24,400 (+$1300 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.

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-separ...

Best Wishes!

[Hal_Al]

"Break it down money wise."

It's a "no brainer", when there is a stay at home spouse. You file Married Filing Jointly (MFJ).  Even when both spouses have income, it's rare for MFJ not to be best.  The exact amount you save depends on lots of details, but is probably hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

You can use this tool  to do comparisons 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/?s=1

[Carl]

Break it down money wise.

Only you can do that, since only you and your spouse know what your income is for the tax year and what your expenses are. But when a married couple files separate, they both *AUTOMATICALLY* disqualify for quite a lot of deductions and credits they would otherwise qualify for if they filed joint. With kids, this *WILL* matter big time.

For example, neither of you can claim the child care credit or the EIC for your kids. That's at least a $1000 *or more* that you will both pay in taxes if you file separate; and that's just on the federal side. If your state taxes personal income and you file separate, you'll be paying more to the state too.