Question

Tax

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
November 16, 2022
1 reply
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My husband and I have been filing taxes separate but now we have a child and wanted to know what is the best way to file?

Donna F 77

Most of the time, married couples filing Married Filing Jointly will result in the payment of the least tax (higher refund amount). There are definitely disadvantages to filing Married Filing Separately -- some credits are completely disallowed. Here's a link with more information:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/better-married-couple-file-jointly-separately/L338QHg8G_US_en_US

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A

arsilvaAuthor

how will this work when we have a child? Child credit? Filing separate or together?

VolvoGirl

Employee

Why have you been filing Separate? That is usually the worse way to file. 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

And contributions to IRA and ROTH IRA are limited when you file MFS.

Also if you file Married Filing Separately up to 85`% of your Social Security becomes taxable right away even with zero other income.

See …….
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separately/00/25590