How can I file taxes if our filing status is different? My husband inadvertently marked married filing separately when correcting his W2, we usually file jointly.

[nursehk77]

We noticed he wasn't having deductions in the first quarter of 2022. He corrected at work (not computer literate) and now we each have a different filing status.

[xmasbaby0]

You must mean the W-4 that was given to the employer to tell the employer how much tax to withhold.  That W-4 does not dictate how you file your tax return.  That form only went to the employer--not to the IRS.

File a joint return.   Your filing status will be whatever you choose on your actual tax return.   If your spouse wants to change his W-4 for the upcoming year, he can do that, but it will have no effect now on your 2023 tax return.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/ https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

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...

[DaveF1006]

It depends. Did you file Married Filing Jointly on your tax return? This would be your main issue if you didn't.  As far as his W4 that he filled out at work, he could submit a new W4 to his employer to have more taxes withheld from his check. 

As xmasbaby0 said, "the W-4 does not dictate how you file your tax return.  That form only went to the employer--not to the IRS", thus you do not need to File Married Filing Separately because of the mistake made on Form W4.  just have your husband submit a new W4 to have the correction made.

@nursehk77 

[nursehk77]

DaveF1006,

Thank you for the response. We always file "married filing jointly". When he noticed the error in deduction, he corrected it at work and inadvertently changed his filing status to married filing separately. I have not filed our taxes yet because I was unsure if that detail mattered. My main concern is not the lack of withheld taxes, it's the filing status. I don't want any issues with the IRS. I want to make sure there are no repercussions if I file married filing jointly with us both on the same tax return.

[xmasbaby0]

Again--the W-4 did not go to the IRS.   All it does is affect how much tax your spouse's employer withheld from his paychecks.   There are no "repercussions" from the IRS for that.   The only effect may be on your own tax due or refund since your spouse's withholding amount was affected by the status he used on his W-4.   You can go ahead and file a joint return as usual.

[nursehk77]

Thank you