When I entered my information, I was due a substantial refund. As soon as I added my husband's information, I owe a substantial amount. Should I file married separately?

[MonikaK1]

It depends. Depending on other factors, it may still be better to file jointly. If you live in a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin), you will need to split your community income evenly even if filing separately; the rules vary by state. Also, some tax benefits aren't available for Separate filing status.

You can use TurboTax Online to test different scenarios before deciding to file jointly or separately. Click here for more information from TurboTax on how to decide which filing status to choose.

Click here for tax tips for community property states.

[fdm2v2]

Surely the expert’s answer is correct; it depends, but most likely joint will be best. But I recommend that people try to plan for their tax situations so there are fewer surprises. Look at your withholdings on both income streams and make sure you’re withholding enough to accomplish what you want, either a refund or a payment, and how much of either. If your incomes and other factors are stable from year to year, then next year’s tax situation will be similar to this year’s. Adjust those W-4’s so that you are taking out enough in total to cover your expected tax bill to the degree you want. And use the pay stubs to check it after any bonuses or increases. If you can handle a little spreadsheet work, you can plan for this. 

[xmasbaby0]

It is unlikely that filing separate returns would yield a better refund.   What you were seeing was that when you entered your own income the married joint standard deduction  of at least $25,900 was being used on just your income----so your taxable income was reduced by $25,900 right off the bat.  Then you added more taxable income.  The refund going down was normal.

You can try comparing MFJ to MFS:

It is not easy to compare MFJ to MFS using online TT but you can do it.  Since you only get one return for each account and user ID, you have to use 3 accounts and user ID’s—one for MFJ and two for each of the MFS returns.  Compare, choose, and file—and pay—accordingly.

It is much easier to do this comparison using the desktop version of TT installed from a CD or downloaded to your own computer.  You pay once for the software and you can prepare multiple returns easily, and it has a “what if” feature that allows comparisons.

If you were legally married at the end of 2022 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 $25,900 (+$1400 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...

[VolvoGirl]

That's common.  It just looks that way because you put them in as separate W2s and saw the tax due change in between them. If it all was on one W2 you would get the same answer. And each job was withholding like it was your only job.

Because you only get one standard deduction no matter how many W2s you put in. Turbo Tax starts out by giving you the Standard Deduction.  You entered more income when you entered the second W2 but you didn't enter more deductions.  And each job only withheld taxes like it was your only job for the year.  You might want to adjust your withholding.  Also as you add more income you might not be getting as many credits as before like the EIC credit.  And it was probably giving you the EIC credit until you went over.

See,   https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refunds/help/why-did-my-refund-drop-when-i-entered-a-second-w-2/00...

When you first start your return in Turbo Tax, we’ve already applied the Standard Deduction which means many people will see an artificially high refund after entering that first W-2.