Not legally separated,waiting for judje decision, but got separated at the January 2024,should I fill taxes as a single?

[Bsch4477]

If you are still married you can’t file single. File married separately or if you have a qualifying person file Head of Household. 

[xmasbaby0]

No.   If you are still legally married, your filing choices are married filing separately or married filing jointly.  Single is not an option.    If you have lived apart for at least the last six months of 2024 and you have the children in your physical custody, you may be able to file as Head of Household.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualify-head-household...

• 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.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/married-person-claim-head-house...

If you were legally married at the end of 2024 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 $29,200 (+ $1550 for each spouse 65 or older)  for 2024. 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://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/should-you-and-your-spouse-file-taxes-jointly-or-separ...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/income/getting-married-mean-taxes/L2Rgma...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/married-filing-separately-commu...

[yukalen829]

If I’m filling as a separated it requires his income and I don’t know that 

[CatinaT1]

When you are Married Filing Separately, you do report your spouses income, only yours. Do you have children that you are claiming as dependents? If so, you may be able to file Head of Household as Bsch4477 and Xmasbaby0 mentioned.

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 personal exemptions, 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 
• 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.   

[xmasbaby0]

@yukalen829 Are you in a community property state?

AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI

Filing MFS in one of those states is trickier and there is more information you have to enter regarding your spouse and their income.