We got married November 20th, 2021. He filed his taxes single. Should we file married but separately. If so do we both have to file standard or itemization?

[justinelavalle44]

If we itemize does our itemizations have to match?

[xmasbaby0]

Your new groom filed SINGLE?   He made a mistake.   Did he e-file?   Was it accepted?   If his return was accepted he will have to wait for it to be processed and then he has to amend.

If you were legally married at the end of 2021 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $25,100 (+$1350 for each spouse 65 or older)  You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit. 

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return. Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

 If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

[FangxiaL]

If you are married as of December 31, 2o21, you cannot file a single return anymore. You can only file either MFJ or MFS. If one takes itemized deductions, the other has to itemize the deductions as well. The itemized deductions don't have to match. If you happen to live in a community property state, each of you has to report half of the other's income.