If my spouse and I are filing separately for student loan reasons, does the "federal refund" include the total of our refunds or just mine" ?

[dtone612]

I am trying to compare the different in our owed taxes between MFS and MFJ status overall.

[macuser_22]

A separate return is just that - one spouse only (unless you live in a community property state and must allocate income which will probably negate any advantage for a student loan).

[HelenC12]

If you're preparing a Married Filing Separately tax return, then only your refund/amount due is reflected because you shouldn't have any of your husbands information on your tax return.

The only way to know for sure is to create test returns, one for each spouse, and compare the bottom lines. Be sure to also prepare the state return so you can get a complete tax picture.

If you're using the TurboTax CD\Download version, see How can we compare married filing jointly with married filing separately?

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:

• Education benefits
• Earned Income Credit (EIC)
• Child and Dependent Care Credit (usually)
• Adoption Credit (usually)
• The same benefit married filing jointly couples get for itemized deductions, the Child Tax Credit, and capital losses (all of these deductions are reduced by half)
• The standard deduction if your spouse is claiming itemized deductions