Are you aware that you lose a lot of child-related credits if you file married filing separately? That is usually the worst way to file.
If you were legally married at the end of 2020 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 $24,800 (+$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...
Children born in 2020 were not included in the 1st stimulus because those checks were based on 2018 or 2019. No one got stimulus money for babies born in 2020 because the IRS did not know about those babies or have their SSN’s. But on your 2020 tax return you can claim your child born in 2020 for the stimulus money, as well as the other child-related credits. You enter your new dependent in My Info. When you go through the screens in My Info make sure to say your child lived with you the WHOLE year. When it asks the oddly worded question about whether your child paid for over half their own support say NO.
The stimulus check is an advance on a credit you can receive on your 2020 tax return. If something went wrong or you did not get the stimulus check in 2020, you can get it when you file your 2020 return in early 2021
The Recovery Rebate Credit will be found in the Federal Review section, If you are eligible it will end up on line 30 of your 2020 Form 1040.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/economic-impact-payment-information-center-topic-j-reconciling-on-your-...
https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/coronavirus-tax-relief-and-economic-impact-payments-for-individuals-...
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
