Will our tax refund change if we file jointly as married vs. if we file as single individuals, with no dependents and nothing extra, just a regular salary (in D.C.)?

[nohamahdi]

Trying to understand if there's really a tax benefit to being married in DC, and different calculators give me different responses. How do I know what changes from single to married jointly filed status in terms of actual numbers?

[xmasbaby0]

If you are legally married you do not have the option to file as "single individuals."   Your choices are to file as married filing jointly or married filing separately.  Single is not a filing choice available to you

If you were legally married at the end of 2022 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 $25,900 (+$1400 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...

It is not easy to compare MFJ to MFS using online TT but you can do it.  Since you only get one return for each account and user ID, you have to use 3 accounts and user ID’s—one for MFJ and two for each of the MFS returns.  Compare, choose, and file—and pay—accordingly.

It is much easier to do this comparison using the desktop version of TT installed from a CD or downloaded to your own computer.  You pay once for the software and you can prepare multiple returns easily, and it has a “what if” feature that allows comparisons.

[nohamahdi]

Thank you so much @xmasbaby0  - this is all very helpful. I guess the real question is- do we get legally married before the end of the year or not (since we were waiting for 2023 but are considering it now for tax purposes)? Is there a difference between filing single vs. MFJ taxes and is there a way to compare that? 

[xmasbaby0]

Do you have a full PC or Mac?   The CD/download software lends itself to making such comparisons much more efficiently than trying to use the online software to compare.   But---if you are stuck with using online then each of you needs to try preparing your own "single" returns and also prepare a MFJ return, then do the math.  It will take three online accounts--one for each single return and one for the joint return.