Switching from single to married filing jointly - One person itemized last year and one didn't - Not handled in TT

[jhg6308]

When creating a new return MFJ based on my prior year return, when you get to the State Refund Taxable question it doesn't handle the condition where both my spouse and I filed Single the prior year.  The series of question after that point are ambiguous and it's not clear if we need to include only my numbers or hers or a combination.  This path through the questions doesn't understand Single->MFJ.

It's also unclear when it asks for "2022 state and local taxes paid" whether that refers to income only, or it includes real-estate taxes.  The question asks about a specific box (on line 5a) and should indicate which line of the schedule A is being requested for "Enter the amount of 2022 state and local taxes paid".

How do I handle this?

[RobertB4444]

Take the two returns that you filed last year and pretend that you had filed married filing joint.  Both your new spouse and you had deductions for state and local taxes?  Combine them and enter them on this year's return.  The IRS treats married couples as one unit.  Assume that you were that unit last year and enter the numbers as if you had been.

@jhg6308