If you were still legally married at the end of 2023, your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately. You can only file a joint return if you both agree to it.
If you file separately, even if you claim the children, since you have a very low income after working for only a couple of months, you will receive very little in the way of any child-related credit. You will not be eligible for earned income credit since MFS disqualifies you for EIC. You might get a small amount of additional child tax credit but maybe not the full refundable amount of $1600 per child, since that would be based on how much you earned from working. You do not get the childcare credit when you file MFS, so if you paid a babysitter, you do not get credit for that.
If you were living apart for at least the last six months of 2023 and you had the children, you could file as Head of Household, but again, your child-related credits would be based on only two months' worth of income.
Am I Head of Household?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household
If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.
If you were legally married at the end of 2023 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 $27,700 (+$1500 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 since with online, you get one return per fee.
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...
So that you understand---here is how the child tax credit works
The total per child is $2000. First the $2000 is used to reduce your tax owed down to zero. When (if) your tax owed is zero, the "rest" of the $2000 can be added to your refund as the Additional Child Tax Credit----up to a maximum of $1600 per child. But....that Additional Child Tax Credit also depends on how much you earned by working.
Take the amount you earned, subtract $2500, and multiply what is left by 15%. That is your additional child tax credit ---- up to a maximum of $1600 per child.
Look at your 2023 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received
PREVIEW 1040
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing
Child Tax Credit line 19
Credit for Other Dependents line 19
Earned Income Credit line 27
Additional Child Tax Credit line 28
If you are able to file HOH, then you would be eligible for EIC---based on the income you received from working for two months.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant
**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.**
