After you start a return in TurboTax, you'll be asked about your marital status on December 31, 2019. Select It's complicated and continue through the program. A little later, you'll enter your personal info and be asked Were you married? You can now select RDP or civil union.
If you don't see an RDP or civil union option, it's because your state doesn't recognize these types of partnerships for tax filing purposes, in which case you'll choose Single.
You can go back and review these screens by doing this:
- Open (continue) your return in TurboTax and search for filing status.
- Select the Jump to link in the search results.
- On the Personal info summary screen, select the first Edit button.
- In Tell us the state(s) you lived in, make sure your state is correct. Select Continue when finished.
- Back on Personal info summary, select Edit next to your filing status (like Single or Married).
- You can now confirm your marital status, which will include RDP or civil union if offered by your state.
Now you can follow the instructions in TurboTax to create your federal and state returns.
If you're filing jointly in a state that allows it
Once you've finished preparing your respective single federal returns, we'll prompt you to create a mock joint federal return. This mock return is not filed with the IRS. Its only purpose is to transfer your combined income and deductions to your joint state return. Keep it with your records though.
When all is said and done, you'll have created 4 returns total: 3 federal returns (2 filed with the IRS, plus the mock federal return) and a joint return that you'll file with your state. It sounds a bit complicated, but TurboTax will walk you through it every step of the way.
Please note that for a number of reasons (security being one of them) you won't be able to e-file your state return.
