Spouse W2 added under my SSN

[cwaph]

My spouse got a new job in 2023.  I'm trying to "Add another W2" under "Wages and Income" in TurboTax.  Every.  Single.  Time.  TurboTax adds the W2 with MY SSN instead of his, even though HIS SSN is on the W2 PDF document I'm uploading.  Trying to "Type it in myself" doesn't help.  Under "Employee information" it has MY SSN in a greyed out box that cannot be adjusted. "This is an informational field.  The Social Security number can't be edited."

Very frustrating.  What am I missing?  I need to add the W2 under his ssn, not mine.

[xmasbaby0]

Did you set up the return correctly as a joint return?   It sounds like you did not.

When you enter your own information in My Info, you have to answer the question "Were you married?"  If you click the button for Married, then a drop down will appear that asks, "Do you want to file this return together with your spouse?"  Then you choose yes to file a joint return.  You would then enter your spouse's information into Personal Info.  Whenever you are entering income information there should then be a spot for you and for your spouse's income information.    When you add income----make sure to select the correct name.

[xmasbaby0]

Oh----and you cannot add a W-2 as a pdf.   If you have the W-2----key it in by hand.

[cwaph]

It's my first time filing "Married Filing Separately" instead of "Married Filing Jointly," and I'm realizing in TurboTax Online I need to create separate accounts to do this.  I'll probably get the Desktop software instead.  Very disappointing that it has the option for "Married Filing Separately" but doesn't allow you to do both returns.

You CAN upload a PDF of your W2 to TurboTax Online.  You do not need to enter it manually if your employer provides a PDF,  FYI.

In any case, I appreciate your help.

[Texas Roger]

It is almost always better to file Married Filing Jointly. Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separately but they are filling out their married filing separate returns incorrectly. If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction. And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the Child Care Credit, Earned Income Credit, and Education Credits. You also cannot deduct student loan interest.
Also to do it online you need to use two separate accounts and pay for 2 returns. The desktop version can do unlimited returns and it has what if scenarios and you can see and enter into the actual forms.

There is no advantage to filing separate returns just because one spouse has income and the other doesn't, one has more income than the other, one has a business and the other doesn't, or because the spouses married during the year.

[SteamTrain]

Yeah...the W-2 PDF import may work "Sometimes"...but is prone to some major errors, with things getting in teh wrong boxes, or coded wrong.

Really a lot Safer to just add it in manually. 

But if you do use a PDF again, be sure to EDIT the W-2 to check each and every box for errors.

[cwaph]

Yes.  Usually it is better to do "Married Filing Jointly," but not always.

The reason we are filing separately this year is because we both have student loans, and are both on the SAVE income based plan.  If we file separately, we only need to include our separate income for our student loan payment calculation, instead of our joint income.  This will dramatically reduce our student loan payments, based on the calculator provided by the feds online.

Because we make about the same amount as each other, and will both be taking the standard deduction, the other considerations don't apply to our tax situation. The only deduction we will be losing out on is the student loan interest deduction, and that only has a tiny effect for our taxes when we file jointly anyway.

I always check my uploaded PDFs, btw.