@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.
