Tax advice

Forum|Forum|11 months ago
July 7, 2025
1 reply
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I've been married many years but I've always kept things separate from my husband due to his many legal problems. Though I've been married I have always filed single or head of household and claimed my two boys. A tax professional has always prepared my taxes, however after doing research online I have found that legally I was required to file married joint. How do I resolve this problem,

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Best answer by Opus 17

No before I married him I just filed head of household and claimed both my dependent children. Him and I weren't together for about 7 years and he never filed his taxes. Was advised at that time to just keep everything separate including my main name. I definitely file and got returns on all the years he failed to file. But because of that issue I felt it was better for myself and in my best interest to keep things separate, and now I'm finding that in the long run may have helped me at some point but now I have potential legal issues for the way I file my taxes the last 6 years

I can't address the whole long story.

However, there was no reason to file separately when he was disabled. SSI (supplemental security income) is needs-based and having a spouse income might affect eligibility, but SSDI (social security disability insurance) is earned by working and can't be taken away even if you are married and your spouse is a millionaire.

If he never filed tax returns when you were single, that is problem that could result in an audit at any time. But the fact that he might have tax problems from before the marriage is not an issue if you file correct joint returns during the marriage.

I suggest you speak to a different tax professional who can review the entire situation.

Filing MFJ for all the years after you married, including amending all your prior returns, is probably the way to go. But you may not need to go back farther than 3 years.

rjs

Level 15

Basically you will have to file amended returns for some number of previous years to change to either married filing jointly or married filing separately. You should consult a local tax professional for help with filing the amended returns. You should discuss your husband's "legal issues" with the tax professional and ask for advice on which filing status is best for you. I would not go back to the tax preparer who has been filing incorrect tax returns for you.

user17519030363Author

Level 2

Thank you for your reply, I'm very upset and distraught over the situation for I thought she was filing our taxes properly and in our best interests. My husband's disabled and was in a terrible accident in 2019 so the filing status she put down was head of household and listed him as a dependent with the relationship stating other. I will have to go back through my taxes and look at them and I don't know if I need to get legal advice at this point?

Opus 17

Level 15

@user17519030363 wrote:

Thank you for your reply, I'm very upset and distraught over the situation for I thought she was filing our taxes properly and in our best interests. My husband's disabled and was in a terrible accident in 2019 so the filing status she put down was head of household and listed him as a dependent with the relationship stating other. I will have to go back through my taxes and look at them and I don't know if I need to get legal advice at this point?

You were never allowed to file as HOH (unless you were actually separated and living apart)—your options were married filing jointly or married filing separately. Your spouse was never allowed to be your dependent.

MFJ usually results in lower taxes, but it depends on your spouse's income. MFS almost always results in higher taxes owed but it has the advantage that your taxes are separate from your spouse. I don't know what "legal trouble" you think you might have. When you file jointly, you agree that you are equally responsible for all facts on the return and all the taxes. So if your spouse is cheating on their taxes, or hasn't been paying their business taxes, that is a very good reason to file separately. However, just being disabled would not be a reason that I think of to file separately.

The IRS can audit you for 3 years from the filing date, or 6 years if you mis-stated your tax by more than 25%. 2019 was due May 17, 2020 (due to the pandemic), so the 3 years has passed but 6 years has not. I can't tell without looking at your returns whether or not you are exposed to the 6 year statute of limitations or 3 years. Some states have 4 years instead of 3 years. The same is true for 2020 and 2021 tax years, where the 3 year deadline has passed but not the 6 year deadline.

If you file an amended return to change to MFJ for 2019, 2020 or 2021, any additional refund that might be due won't actually be paid, because of the 3 year deadline, but I would recommend it so all the correct information is on file. (A few things can carry over from year to year.). If you change from HOH to MFS for 2019, 2020 or 2021, you will likely owe tax, and that will come with penalties and interest that will likely double what you owe.

I can't recommend because I don't know your situation, how much money is at stake, or why you decided not to file jointly in the first place. But here are my suggestions:

If you need help deciding whether to file separately or jointly, you should get advice from a tax attorney for your situation.

If you decide to file jointly, then you can file the amended returns yourself, you do not need legal help unless you want it. However, you may not be able to purchase tax software going as far back as 2019, so you might still need a tax pro unless you can fill out the forms by hand using the forms and instructions from the IRS web site. File amended returns for all years when you incorrectly filed as HOH, some older refunds won't be paid but you may be due refunds from more recent years, especially if your spouse does not work. (If your spouse did work, they should also have been filing MFS. Combining the two returns into one amended return has some extra steps, but it is still possible using consumer software like Turbotax.)

If you decide to change to married filing separately, I suggest seeing a tax pro. You want advice on whether to amend the returns that are more than 3 years old, or just let that lie (since the IRS has not audited you). Then for more recent returns, you can prepare amended returns to change from HOH to MFS, determine the amount of back taxes you owe, and estimate the interest and penalties. If the amount is significant, your pro can help negotiate a settlement.