Filing Status Legally Separated

If you are married, you may choose to file one tax return jointly with your spouse. A joint tax return combines the incomes and deductions of each spouse.

In order to file jointly, both you and your spouse must agree to file a joint tax return, and both must sign the return. Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) provides more tax benefits than filing separately.

If you are married, you and your spouse may file separate tax returns. Married filing separately (MFS) taxpayers have the least beneficial tax treatment. But MFS status is the one way to achieve separate tax liabilities, which is a benefit not to be overlooked. Married taxpayers should carefully consider whether filing joint or separate returns will be most beneficial for their unique financial situation.

Reasons for Married Couples to File Separately: There are very good reasons for husbands and wives to file their tax returns separately. Some good reasons for filing separately include:

• One spouse wants to file taxes, but the other doesn't want to file.
• One spouse suspects that the joint return might not be accurate.
• One spouse doesn't want to be held responsible for the payment of tax shown on the joint return.
• One spouse owes taxes, and the other would get a refund.
• Spouses are separated, but not yet divorced, and they wish to keep their finances as separate as possible.

When you are filing separately, you must still cooperate and share tax information. If you both have children, you must coordinate who gets to claim the children as dependents. Finally, spouses filing separately must both take the standard deduction or must both itemize their deductions. People who choose to file as Married Filing Separately do not qualify for several tax benefits and tax credits. While filing jointly can in some cases result in lower federal tax, filing separately creates separate tax liabilities for each spouse, which can be useful in minimizing tax risks.