Husband Filed Return as Single before I submitted mine. What’s next?

[Jones_724]

Hi there,

My husband and I are newly married and he jumped the gun and filed his taxes as single. His green card is pending but has a working permit and was previously on work visas therefore has a SSN and income to report. He has filed taxes in the USA in the past so just filed as he normally did, not updating his marital status. 

It wasn’t until I started to file my returns that we realized he made a mistake. We know he needs to amend his return, but we are unsure what’s best after that. Should we simply just file as married separately so I file a return as well? Or do we file jointly? Am I allowed to file jointly since mine has not been submitted yet? Or do we need to correct the amended return. 

Thank you for any insight and help!

[xmasbaby0]

He owes you roses and chocolates for forgetting that he is now married.   His return is wrong, of course.   It will have to be amended after the IRS fully processes it.    It cannot be changed or amended until the Form 1040X becomes available in late February.  At that time, you can amend his return to file a joint return if the two of you agree to file jointly.    

You cannot file a joint return at this point, because he has already put his SSN into the system and if you e-file, the e-file will be rejected.      

You can decide if you want to file married filing separately or married filing jointly-----but Single is not an option.   No matter what----he has to amend.

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...

[Jones_724]

Thank you! 

So if we amend his return and correct it as married file jointly, can that still be done online, or through the mail?

[Mike9241]

a joint return is one return that includes both spouses' tax information. Since you're using online if you chose MFJ then both taxpayers must enter their info using the same account. it can be either old one or a new one. 

Be careful because when using an old a/c some carryforward info is going to be incorrect. 

[Cynthiad66]

Yes, you can file the amended return online using TurboTax.  You can amend the return your husband filed as Single to Joint.

If you prepared your original tax return using TurboTax:

1. log in to your husband's account, 
2. open the tax return you already filed, and 
3. click on the link to amend your return. 

From there, the software will walk you through the process of filing the amendment.

You should not attempt to file until your husband's original return has been fully processed by the IRS and you have received that refund.  Also, the amended form 1040X is not available for filing until 2/14/2024.

For additional information on amending, click this link:  How to File an Amended Return With the IRS

@Jones_724 

[Edited 2/6/2024 | 9:40am PST]