No, unfortunately, your status as of December 31, 2017, is your status for the entire year. You can try the married filing separately option and see if it helps your situation. The problem with filing Married Filing Separately is that you lose access to so many other deductions and credits, see below.
The requirements for having health insurance are based on your total income for the year and your filing status. So, even if you got married in December, you are considered married the whole year and you and your spouse's income are combined for the year to determine your total yearly income. Furthermore, even though you qualified for an exemption for low income before you were married, it becomes irrelevant when you get married, even if you got married on Dec. 31.
All of the desktop versions have a function that does ''What If'' scenarios which work great for making the Married Filing Jointly vs. Married Filing Separately comparisons.
Unfortunately, the Online products do not have this feature. The only way to compare in Online is to create three different ''mock'' returns, one MFJ and two MFS. You already have the MFJ, so it may be worth your time to create another account or two and see what, if anything, Married filing Separately can do for you. You wouldn't need to pay for all three accounts, only the one(s) you decide to actually file. If you go this route, be sure to keep track of your different log-in IDs and passwords; it can get a little confusing.
If you are interested in the desktop products, here is a link :
https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/cd-download/
Things to keep in mind: Married Filing Separately (MFS) taxpayers are only responsible for their income and taxes (and not for a spouse), but may not be eligible to claim the following tax benefits:
- Student loan interest deduction
- Tax-free exclusion of US bond interest
- Tax-free exclusion of Social Security Benefits
- Credit for the Elderly and Disabled
- Child and Dependent Care Credit
- Earned Income Credit
- Education Credits
Other drawbacks of Married Filing Separately:
- Taxpayers have a much lower income phase-out range for IRA deductions.
- Both spouses must claim the standard deduction, or both must itemize their deductions. One spouse cannot claim the standard deduction if the other is itemizing.
- This filing status generally pays the most tax of all the filing statuses.
