I filing as a civil union, my husband has no income. But TurboTax wants me to COMPLETE two separate federal returns for myself? That can't be right?

[ckappenman2]

The instructions are extremely unclear, making it sound like I need to somehow file both as single and as married federally, and also complete my husband's federal tax form. But I have nowhere to enter that information in my "single" field, or join my first ID to my second one to make it see that information. Besides that, my husband is NOT filing a federal tax form, as he has had 0 income this year.

What am I doing wrong? Or will there be some final button hidden deep in the process to "finish without filing" or something?

[Opus 17]

For the IRS under federal law:

The IRS does not recognize civil unions.  Since same-sex marriages are legal, so the IRS now only allows you to file a federal return as married if you are legally married according to the laws of your state.  You will need to file as single, or perhaps head of household if you pay more than half the cost of maintaining your home and you provide care in your home for a qualifying dependent (not your partner).  Your partner might or might not file depending on their situation. 

Then, you file a joint state tax return as RDPs, because state law allows you to file jointly.

This requires some jiggery-pokery in Turbotax.  I think I know someone who can help,

@VolvoGirl 

@Critter-3 

[Bsch4477]

You should file a federal as single and claim your husband as a dependent (qualifying relative) if he lived with you all year, you provided more than half of his support and his taxable income was less than $4,400. He would not file a return.  State laws may differ. 

[Vanessa A]

If you are in a Civil Union and not legally married, you would be considered single so you would need to file your own tax return. 

However, you may be able to claim your husband as a dependent if he meets the criteria including

• Income of less than $4,400
• Lived with you for the entire year
• You provide more than half of his support for the year

[hbl3973]

ckappenman2,

TurboTax does address your situation in https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/doma-tax-implications-for-same-sex-couples/L1LDCicXw which says:

Even though same-sex marriages have been nationally recognized since 2015, some couples may still be in a domestic partnership or civil union rather than a marriage. For federal tax purposes, individuals in a civil union, domestic partnership or similar formal legal relationship are not considered married under state law. This prevents them from filing as a married couple at the federal level. If legally married at the state level, married couples should consider their options before choosing to file as married filing jointly vs. separately.

So what it tells us is that you simply file as a Single taxpayer based on your own income alone and your partner does the same.  Two individual returns.  (If you live in a community property state, you would generally split your household income in half instead of using each of your incomes separately.)

For deeper information the IRS has a discussion at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/answers-to-frequently-asked-questions-for-registered-domestic-partners-...

[Opus 17]

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@hbl3973 wrote:

ckappenman2,

TurboTax does address your situation in https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/doma-tax-implications-for-same-sex-couples/L1LDCicXw which says:

With all due respect to the blog writer, that post is useless.  It only says the partners must file single (or possibly HOH) at the federal level.  It doesn't tell them how to file jointly at the state level.  This may be a better article.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/state-tax-filing-for-same-sex-couples/L1aZjbQMj

The other problem is that if they are RDPs in a community property state, they must file single (or HOH) but they must report their income and deductions according to community property rules.  Even this Turbotax article, which tells you how to do it, also says you probably need to see an accountant. 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/prepare-rdp-return-live-califor...

@ckappenman2 , we might be able to help you better if you identify the state, but I suspect you need local professional help. 

[Opus 17]

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@Bsch4477 wrote:

You should file a federal as single and claim your husband as a dependent (qualifying relative) if he lived with you all year, you provided more than half of his support and his taxable income was less than $4,400. He would not file a return.  State laws may differ. 

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The partner may be a tax dependent but is not a qualifying person for HOH.

Also, both partners must file using community property rules if they live in one of the community property states that also recognizes RDPs.