Filing separate

[cerv3030]

I’m trying to make this seem understanding as much as possible. 
I’ve been in a relationship with the same person for 5 years. We are not engaged or legally married. I have 3 children from a previous relationship. So one year my boyfriend claimed on of the kids and got audited. So since then we have been filing married filing joint. Here’s the thing we are not com in law or legally married. We split up and since he’s been helping raise my kids. Do we have file separate? And can he still claim on of my kids? I gave the okay. We broke up in November. I’m not sure what to heck to do

[DianeC958]

You can only file as Married Filing Joint if you live in a state that recognizes the relationship as a legal marriage sometimes known as a Common Law Marriage.

If this is the case with your state you can file for 2019 as Married Filing Joint even though you broke up in November.

If the state you live in does not recognize the relationship as a legal marriage then you should amend the prior returns that were filed as Married Filing Joint.  For your ex-boyfriend, he should file as Single and since you have children you can file as Head of Household.

Link about Unmarried Couple Filing Jointly

Link about Amending Prior Year's Tax returns using TurboTax