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Mlema16
New Member

I filed for divorce in August, divorce is still not done.. no court date yet and with is being 12/21/20. I can only imagine we wont be divorced by the 31st of the year. That being said here is some

 
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2 Replies

I filed for divorce in August, divorce is still not done.. no court date yet and with is being 12/21/20. I can only imagine we wont be divorced by the 31st of the year. That being said here is some

you always have the option of filing married separate with the one caveat that is if one takes standard deduction bot must use that method same for itemized.  if you lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of 2020 and maintained a home for yourself and child who lived with you for more than 6 months you can file as head of household

I filed for divorce in August, divorce is still not done.. no court date yet and with is being 12/21/20. I can only imagine we wont be divorced by the 31st of the year. That being said here is some

Your question was cut off.  But... if you are still legally married at the end of 2020:

 

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...

**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.**

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