Community Property Income

[Mi07lo]

I'm married, but filing separate as we are now separated and have children who resides with me.  I qualify to file HOH. 

Since I will be filing as HOH, would I still need to claim my wife's income since we reside in a community property state? Or is the community property income only for filing MFS? 

Also, is all 1099's included as community property? 

Thanks

[ThomasM125]

You may need to adjust your income to comply with your state community property rules. According to the IRS, you need to adjust your income for community property purposes if you are married and file a separate return. So, since you are not filing jointly with your spouse, you would need to comply with your state community property rules to determine if and how to adjust your income.

It would depend on your state community property rules as to the taxability of income reported on a 1099 form, and also the type of 1099 income you are referring to. If you can clarify what state you live in and the type of 1099 income you have we may be able to help you better.

[Opus 17]

Sorry, you need to ask a CPA or enrolled agent in your state, and possibly your divorce attorney, if you have one.

Even though you can file HOH for your federal return, you must follow your state law as to division of income.  One important question will be "when does the marital community end?"  For example, if the marital community only ends on divorce, then you still report half your spouse's income and they report half of yours.  But maybe the marital community ends when you formally separate.  In that case, income before the official date of separation is community and income after the separation date is separate.  (And you might have other income that is not part of the community at all, such as investments that you separately owned before the marriage.)

There's no good way for us to answer since state laws vary and we don't know anything about your marriage.  I think you need to discuss with a local professional.