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ajbowen64
New Member

I want to file seperate but married this year

 
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2 Replies
DawnC
Expert Alumni

I want to file seperate but married this year

You will have the option to choose Married filing Separate when you enter your marital status.  But be careful, the is generally the worst filing status you can choose.   Generally, filing jointly will give you a bigger refund or less taxes due. When you file separately, your tax rate is higher and you won't be able to claim:

 

 

On top of that, if you live in the community property states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, you have to deal with community property allocations and adjustments, which adds extra work and complexity to your tax preparation chores.

 

Tip: Only taxpayers who were still legally married as of December 31, 2020 are able to file as married, whether jointly or separately.

 

Filing jointly means you file one tax return. When filing separately, you file two tax returns.

 

Want to compare filing jointly vs. separately?

Why would I want to file separately?

Filing Separately? Use TurboTax CD/Download

 

 

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I want to file seperate but married this year

If you used Turbo Tax last year with your spouse you should start a brand new account for yourself and not transfer from last year.  You can not remove a spouse or switch the order of names.

 

Online is only good for 1 return.  But you can use the same email address for 5 accounts.   How to start another return in the Online version  

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/using-turbotax/help/how-do-i-start-another-return-in-turbotax-onli...

 

And may I ask why you are filing separate returns?  Sometimes people don't realize the differences between filing  Joint and MFS.

 

Unless you have a specific reason to file separate returns,

It is usually better to file Joint. Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction.   And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out.  Here's some things to consider about filing separately……

 

In the first place you each have to file a separate return, so that's two returns.  And if you are using the Online version that means using 2 accounts and paying the fees twice.  

 

Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separate but they are probably doing it wrong.  If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction, even if it is ZERO!  

 

And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the

EITC Earned Income Tax Credit

Child Care Credit

Educational Deductions and Credits

 

And contributions to IRA and ROTH IRA are limited when you file MFS.

 

Also if you file Married Filing Separately up to 85`% of your Social Security becomes taxable right away even with zero other income.

 

See …….

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-...

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