New marriage question

[tmarsman0222]

I re-married earlier in 2023 and I work full time. My husband is retired from self-employment and is on Medicaid and disability. He doesn't draw enough to file yearly income taxes. How should I file my taxes for 2023? Can I claim him as a dependent? (No other dependents). Should we file married filing jointly, or should I file separately? Thank you!

[DoninGA]

A spouse can never be claimed as a dependent.  You should be filing as Married Filing Jointly even if one spouse has little or no income.

[xmasbaby0]

Best Wishes!

A spouse cannot ever be claimed as a dependent.  File a joint return.   If you file separate returns, 85% of his SS becomes taxable immediately.

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.

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...

[tmarsman0222]

Thank you for your response. My husband was single for years before we married. And since he has been on disability and SSI, he has not filed the yearly income tax return. So does this mean that he will now be added to the married filing jointly return, (with me and my info)? Do I include his yearly SSI amount on the tax return as his income? Thanks!

[Emack_EA]

Hello @tmarsman0222  thanks for being here.

 If you are married as of Dec 31 2022 your filing status can either be married filing jointly and file an joint tax return with your spouse. In addition you can file a joint return as a widowed spouse for that year.

The other option is to file separate tax returns, but I would not recommend that option as it may result in more tax owed than filing a joint tax return.

[xmasbaby0]

When you file a joint return, ALL of your combined income goes on the tax form, including his Social Security.   In January he should receive a SSA1099 from Social Security---enter it on your 2023 forms:

 Go to Federal> Wages & Income>>Retirement Plans and Social Security  (SSA1099 and 1099RRB) to enter your SSA1099.

One thing---let's make sure you are really talking about Social Security and not "SSI"---a lot of people use those terms as if they are the same and they are not the same thing.   If he receives a SSA1099 he is getting Social Security-----not "SSI".   If he is getting SSI, he does not receive any sort of form for that, and it does not get entered on a tax return.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AND SSI?

https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-over-ussi.htm

[tmarsman0222]

Ok thank you for that clarification....

[tmarsman0222]

So just to clarify, if he does NOT GET  any forms for 2023, then he is receiving SSI. (He is rather confused as to what it is exactly, SSI or SS). So if that is the case, and he does not receive any forms, would I still file as married filing jointly, and just put 0 as his income? 

[xmasbaby0]

You should still file a joint return because a married couple gets a much higher standard deduction so less of your income would be taxable.    Your spouse needs some clarity on what the income is --- only a SSA1099 would get entered; "SSI" does not get entered.    You do not "enter zero" as his income.   You just file a joint return, enter his information  (name, SSN, address, etc.) into My Info and and enter your own income, etc.  

When you enter your own information in My Info, you have to answer the question "Were you married?"  If you click the button for Married, then a drop down will appear that asks, "Do you want to file this return together with your spouse?"  Then you choose yes to file a joint return.  You would then enter your spouse's information into Personal Info.  Whenever you are entering income information there should then be a spot for you and for your spouse's income information.

When you prepare a joint return you include all the information for both spouses on the SAME tax return.  Include all of your personal information, all of your income from every source, all dependents (if any), all credits and deductions for both of you.  You get ONE refund with both names on it.