Want to Change Status from Married Filing Separately to Joint

[Mag Strech]

My husband and I have not filed out taxes yet, but we both planned on doing it separately because we make about the same money and we got married in the summer of 2022. Can we change that status to joint even if our W2 are labeled as file separately? Rookie mistake. 

[DoninGA]

What you enter on the W-4 you give to your employer has no bearing whatsoever on the filing status you enter on your tax return.

Since you are married you should be filing as Married Filing Jointly on your tax return.

[xmasbaby0]

The W-4 you gave to your employer only told the employer how much to withhold from your paychecks; it does not dictate how to file your tax return.

To begin a new joint return on TurboTax:

You will not be able to merge two previous TT account to start your new joint return.  You can transfer ONE of your 2021 returns into a new return, so choose the most complicated one.  The other spouse’s information needs to be entered manually.

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 My Info.  Whenever you are entering income information there should then be a spot for you and for your spouse's income information.  Income screens will have spots with each spouse’s name—be careful to enter under the correct names.

Best Wishes!