If your husband is meeting his child support obligation, then his ex won't be able to ask the courts to seize your tax refund. She will never be able to see your return. That said, you may wish to file a Married Filing Joint return and fill out the "Injured Spouse" interview to protect your share of the refund. (Instructions are below.)
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 each receive the $4050 personal exemption, plus the married filing jointly standard deduction of $12,700 (add $1250 for each spouse over the age of 65). 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 deduct student loan interest and ahigher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. 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. (If you choose to go with Married Filing Separate, I recommend purchasing the desktop download, as it will be cheaper and easier to do your returns.)
How to file the Injured Spouse Form
The injured spouse form and the innocent spouse form use the same interview. You access the injured spouse interview by choosing the Federal return Other Tax Situations tab and scrolling down to Miscellaneous tax forms, Show more.
To the first question, answer NO.
To the second question, answer YES
If your husband is meeting his child support obligation, then his ex won't be able to ask the courts to seize your tax refund. She will never be able to see your return. That said, you may wish to file a Married Filing Joint return and fill out the "Injured Spouse" interview to protect your share of the refund. (Instructions are below.)
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 each receive the $4050 personal exemption, plus the married filing jointly standard deduction of $12,700 (add $1250 for each spouse over the age of 65). 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 deduct student loan interest and ahigher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. 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. (If you choose to go with Married Filing Separate, I recommend purchasing the desktop download, as it will be cheaper and easier to do your returns.)
How to file the Injured Spouse Form
The injured spouse form and the innocent spouse form use the same interview. You access the injured spouse interview by choosing the Federal return Other Tax Situations tab and scrolling down to Miscellaneous tax forms, Show more.
To the first question, answer NO.
To the second question, answer YES