I do not live with my spouse and he owned his house prior to our marriage do I still need to take the Standard Deduction; I do not know how he filed his taxes.

[rjs]

If you are filing as married filing separately, you have to find out whether he took the standard deduction or itemized deductions. You have to do what he did.

Do you have a child living in your home? If so, and you meet other requirements, you might be able to file as head of household. If you file as head of household it doesn't matter whether your spouse took the standard deduction or itemized. You can do whichever is best for you.

It's not clear why you mentioned that he owned his house prior to your marriage. Why do you think that matters? It does not determine which type of deductions you or he takes.

[DoninGA]

The Standard Deduction is automatic unless your total itemized deductions are greater than the Standard Deduction for your filing status.  Since you do not know how your spouse filed their tax return you can use itemized deductions if you are able to, assuming that you will be filing as Married Filing Separately.

However, if you did not live with your spouse at any time during the last 6 months of the year, you have your child as a dependent on your return and you provide over one-half the cost to maintain your home, you can file as Head of Household if you meet all the requirements.  If filing as HOH there is no requirement that you have to use the same type of deduction as your spouse.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for Head of Household - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/married-person-claim-head-house...

Standard deductions for 2023

Single - $13,850 add $1,850 if age 65 or older
Married Filing Separately - $13,850 add $1,500 if age 65 or older
Married Filing Jointly - $27,700 add $1,500 for each spouse age 65 or older
Head of Household - $20,800 add $1,850 if age 65 or older

[Opus 17]

This is a bit complicated. Can you discuss why you are filing separately?  Are you separated now, or separated after 12/31/23, or is this a financial decision.

"If you are filing as married filing separately, you have to find out whether he took the standard deduction or itemized deductions. You have to do what he did."

This is not quite correct.   If one spouse itemizes deductions, the other spouse must itemize.  It is the "itemizer" who controls.  If you have enough deductions to itemize, and your spouse did not, the IRS will contact them to correct their return.  If you want to take the standard deduction because your itemized deductions are less, and don't know how your spouse filed, go ahead and take the standard deduction.  If your spouse did itemize, the IRS will contact you to update your return.  (In this case, the IRS might assume your itemized deductions are zero and assess a large tax bill.  If you have some itemized deductions, you can prepare an amended return to show that you owe less than they think.)

As far as marriage and a house are concerned, if you are married, you are allowed to deduct any part of the mortgage interest and property taxes that you actually paid, even if you were not listed on the title (marriage imparts ownership for tax purposes).  If you had a joint bank account, you may be able to estimate how much you paid, based on your family finances.

Of course, if you are separated and on the way to a divorce, these are all things you should work out with your attorneys before everything is final.