Do I have to file a w-2 for Income that is below the deduction threshold in my state, if I file jointly with my spouse whose income is above the threshold?

[dbwtaxes2022]

I have a W-2 for only $12, 195.00 and it affects our total refund negatively. It’s below the threshold but I want to make sure legally I do not have to file it

[Mike9241]

you are asking from live ask your agent. 

[xmasbaby0]

ALL of your combined income goes on a joint tax return, even if your income was much less than your spouse's income.  EVERY W-2 or dollar of self-employment goes on your joint return.

And.....if you start thinking about filing separately:

If you were legally married at the end of 2023 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 $27,700 (+$1500 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 since with online, you get one return per fee.

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...

[xmasbaby0]

Your employer sent a copy of your W-2 to the IRS with your Social Security number on it.  If the IRS gets a joint return from you that does not include that W-2, you are going to get a nasty letter from the IRS someday.  You are required to report all of your combined income on a joint return.  And as for the "negative effect" on your refund, that is normal.

WHY DID MY REFUND GO DOWN WHEN I ADDED ANOTHER W-2?

You started off with your first W-2 and your refund looked high?  Then you added another W-2 and it stopped looking so good? That is normal.  When you added more income, your tax liability increased, so you saw your refund decrease.  The program began by giving you your standard deduction—- which lowered your taxable income.  (if you are filing joint it took $27,700 off your income right off the bat)   So you are not being taxed on as much of the income on that first W-2.  Then you added taxable income--so the refund went down. Your refund (or tax due) is based on the total of your income, not “per W-2.”  

And…adding income may affect other credits you were getting like the earned income credit.

Wait until you have entered ALL of your income and credit/deduction information.  You can't really tell anything until it is all entered.  That “refund monitor” does not mean anything until everything has been entered.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2273878-why-did-my-refund-drop-when-i-entered-another-w-2

[rjs]

You legally DO have to file every W-2. The threshold applies to your total joint income, not to individual W-2s. If you file a tax return you have to report all your income, no matter how little it is.

[Opus 17]

If you file a joint tax return, then both spouses must report all of their income, no matter how small the individual pieces are.  The reason your tax refund goes down when you report this extra income is that there was not enough tax withheld from that income relative to the total amount of tax you owe. If you had more tax withheld at the time, you would get a larger refund now, but you would’ve had less money to spend each week.