Will I really lose over half of my refund this year simply because I married my husband and now have to file as "married"?

[DoninGA]

On a joint tax return with a tax refund, there is no mine or their tax refund, there is only Our tax refund.

[yettasitak]

but I do not wish to file a joint return, I want to file as "married filing separately"

[VolvoGirl]

You should usually file a Joint return which is only 1 return combined for the both of you.  Make sure to stick with this one account for the future.  Just ignore the other spouse's account.

And info on Getting Married…..
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Getting-Married/INF12006.html">http://turbotax....>

Is it better to file Joint or Separately?
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...>

Unless you have a specific reason to file separate returns,
It is usually better to file Joint. Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction.   And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out.  Here's some things to consider about filing separately……

In the first place you each have to file a separate return, so that's two returns.  And if you are using the Online version that means using 2 accounts and paying the fees twice.  

Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separate but they are probably doing it wrong.  If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction, even if it is ZERO!  

And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the
EITC Earned Income Tax Credit
Child Care Credit
Educational Deductions and Credits

[yettasitak]

I do not care about sharing my refund with my husband, the problem Is that when I do not file as "head of household" for some reason it is saying my refund will be about $5,000 less than I have always received n the past. I dont understand why.

[VolvoGirl]

You can not file Head of Household if you are married and live together.  You have to live apart for the last 6 months of the year and have a qualifying child.

[Opus 17]

 Your refund is simply the difference between your tax bill and your withholding and payments.   If you get a large refund, it's because your bill was much less than your payments; you overpaid during the year. 

 When you marry, you have to consider both your and your husband's income, deductions, and withholding or payments.  If your payments were very large but his payments were not, then you may get a smaller refund. But that is simply a result of the fact that he paid less in the system during the year. 

You can't file head of household unless you were actually maritally separated for all of the last six months of the year.

 Filing a joint married to return is almost always better, it has lower taxes, hire deductions, and many tax credits are limited or disallowed for married filing separately.  Whatever refund you get is the right refund for your situation, and if you want a larger refund next year, then you need to adjust your withholding or your spouse's withholding to have more tax taken out of your weekly paychecks.