Should I file married jointly or separate? When I started our return with just my w-2, the refund was $15,000. After I added my husbands, it went down to $5,900.

[RBBrittain]

For Federal returns, it is almost always best to file jointly because of how the tax tables are structured. Forget the $15,000; that was based on the joint tax tables applied to ONLY your income, and the significant refund reduction from adding your husband's W-2 is normal. If you file separately, you and your husband will get a different tax table; because of how the Federal tables are set up, you will likely owe more money or get a smaller refund combined. (There are a few exceptions.)

The answer is different for many if not most state returns. However, if you file a Federal joint return your state TurboTax program will generally select the best option for your state.

[DaveF1006]

It still is much more advantageous to file jointly instead of separately. For your convenience, please refer to this Turbo Tax guide written by our team of experts that may give you some additional insights on whether to file jointly or separately. 

[VolvoGirl]

Unless you have a specific reason to file separate returns,

It is usually better to file Joint. Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction.   And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out.  Here's some things to consider about filing separately……

In the first place you each have to file a separate return, so that's two returns.  And if you are using the Online version that means using 2 accounts and paying the fees twice.  

Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separate but they are probably doing it wrong.  If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction, even if it is ZERO!  

And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the

EITC Earned Income Tax Credit

Child Care Credit

Educational Deductions and Credits

And contributions to IRA and ROTH IRA are limited when you file MFS.

Also if you file Married Filing Separately up to 85`% of your Social Security becomes taxable right away even with zero other income.

See …….

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-...

[tgmpharmconsult]

Thank you for the three responses.  All were helpful.  I wish turbotax wouldn't show that original amount... very discouraging to see the refund go down with each income that is entered.  

Thanks again!
Tom 

[VolvoGirl]

Turbo Tax doesn't know how many W2 or how much income you're going to enter.  You should ignore the refund monitor until you are done entering everything.

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.