Does is matter who is head of household when filling jointly?

[colin-byrd]

My husband is listed as head of household but I make more money.  Should I switch it around to make me head of household?  Would I save money?

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

Don't change anything.

There is no "Head of household" on a joint return. You are both equal taxpayer-spouses. It does not initially matter what order you enter the two spouses. But once you have filed your first joint return; you should continue to file that way each year, just to keep  the IRS from getting confused. In TurboTax, the first person listed in referred to as the "taxpayer" and the 2nd as the "spouse".

[JustKeepTrying]

Unfortunately, my husband has been filing returns for 79 years. He always puts his name and SS# first. This year, I'm taking on the task and filled out the information with my name first. Is it possible to change the order of the names and SS#s ? Return wasn't accepted at attempted e-file.

[ChondelLO]

Have you received a rejection code? If so, what rejection code did you receive? Please leave a comment for further assistance.

[Hal_Al]

@JustKeepTrying 

No, you should not use the same  TurboTax account  if you want to list yourself first.  Theoretically it can be done, but it's too likely that mistakes will be made.  Start over with a new account.  Everything will have to be entered manually.

[fanfare]

Ask your husband for the password he's been using and file under that TurboTax account.

If you already paid, Never Mind.

You have to make it work.

[JustKeepTrying]

Knowing no better, and anxious to get the return filed and done, I went to the Personal Info tab and edited the names and numbers so my husband was first. All return data was unchanged. IT WORKED ! Return e-filed and accepted !!!

He couldn't give me his PIN since he no longer uses a computer and has always filed on paper. 

Despite a good relationship with my calculator, I will continue to use Turbo Tax for my returns.