My daughter has filed for a divorce and I am trying to file her taxes for 2019

[pepe1943]

My daughter moved into my house in July of 2019.  She has filed for a divorce from her husband after 54 years of marriage.  Her husband has been abusive for most of these years.  He had decided, during these years of marriage, that he chooses to revolt against paying taxes.  This poses several problems for my daughter.  Do I dare to do her taxes with Turbo Tax?

[SusanY1]

You can still do her current year taxes with TurboTax, and it is probably wise to ensure that she stays current with tax years that she has control over from this point forward. 

For her prior-year returns, she may wish to rely upon the advice that she receives from her attorney.  

[macuser_22]

If you use online then create a new account for her.   

She would probably be filing a Married Filing Separately return.  That should not present any problems if she has his SSN, if not, then she can only paper file.   

If you live in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin and file separately, your income may be considered separate income or community income for income tax purposes. See Publication 555. http://www.irs.gov/publications/p555/index.html

That could be an issue if there was 2019 community income in one of those states that might require help from a tax professional that deals with community property in divorce situations.

[xmasbaby0]

Although filing married filing separately is not the most advantageous filing status, that might be the best way for her to file under the circumstances.    If he is not filing/paying taxes then she should not try to file a joint return with him  (is he having mental health issues?) .

Here are some rules she needs for a MFS return:

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...

For married filing separately her standard deduction will be $12,200 (+ $1300 for age 65 or older)  

[Critter]

First this issue of failure to file  should be addressed with the attorney and a mutual decision made on how to move forward to get the required years filed.   

I HIGHLY recommend she seek local professional guidance to see if she was/is even required to file any  of the prior year returns herself ... if she did not work then she may wish to file anyway so he cannot file a joint return and get her on the hook for any taxes owed (even if she never signs the return the legal issues are a nightmare to clean up).