I am married but filing separately. I am wondering if I should claim our kid/house, or if they should.

[Mike9241]

This forum has no access to your information or tax return. you have provided no information so there's no way to know what is best or in cases where there are options what is preferred. There's not any information to determine if "they" can even claim your kid/house.  

several options

1) buy the desktop software and then you can run through as many scenarios as you like. this is not cost-effective with online. even this assumes no disagreements and conformity to the tax laws.

2) upgrade to a version of Live but here too there must be agreement  and conformity to the tax laws

3) all parties consult with an outside professional who can provide advice and maybe help mediate in areas where there are disagreements. 

[SharonD007]

To determine if you or your spouse should claim your child and mortgage expenses, review the IRS Rules below.

When you file your taxes using Married Filing Separately (MFS) filing status and have a child, only one parent can claim the same qualifying child and get the tax breaks. The parent who the child lives with and provides their housing for most of the year gets to claim the child. If the child lived with both parents equally, then the IRS rule is that the parent with the highest adjusted gross income (AGI) gets to claim the child.

The spouse who made the mortgage and property tax payments on the house gets to claim the mortgage interest and property tax. If both of you were liable and paid, you divide the interest and property taxes equally. You can attach an explanation on your tax return explaining the amount of interest you paid on your 1098 - Mortgage Interest form.

Just remember that you and your spouse will have to agree on if you will be claiming the Standard Deduction or itemized deductions. If one of you itemizes and claims mortgage interest and property taxes, the other one can't use the Standard Deduction.

Refer to The IRS Rule for MFS splitting itemized deductions.

[xmasbaby0]

And...why are you filing separate returns--usually the worst way to file?  If you have children you lose child-related credits by filing that way.

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...