TACCT

Filing Status for Married Taxpayers

Tax Filing, Taxes

Married taxpayers may file as Married Filing Jointly or Married filing Separately. Read more information about each filing status in the tabs below.

A taxpayer and spouse can choose to file a joint return if they are married and both agree to file a jointly. They would then report all their income, expenses, deductions and credits on the same return. A joint return is allowed even if one spouse had no income or deductions. Generally filing joint return results in a lower tax liability, however in certain circumstances filing separately may be more advantageous. The information below gives some of the specific advantages and disadvantages of married filing jointly versus married filing separately. If one spouse is a nonresident alien, the taxpayer and spouse may file jointly only if they elect to be taxed on their worldwide income. A surviving spouse of a taxpayer who died during the year is considered to be married for the entire year and they can elect to file a joint return with their deceased spouse for the year of death.
A taxpayer and spouse can also choose to file separate returns. This filing status may be beneficial to the taxpayer(s) if they want to be separately responsible for the tax shown on their returns or if it results in a lower tax liability than a joint return. If a taxpayer and spouse cannot agree to file a joint return, they may have to file separate returns. Generally when a taxpayer files a separate return they would report only their own income, exemptions, deductions or credits. However special rules apply in community property states.

In a community property state, the income and property acquired by a taxpayer and spouse during their marriage is generally considered to be held equally by each spouse. Property owned before marriage generally remains separate property and property received by a spouse during the marriage as a gift or inheritance is generally separate property. If a husband and wife file separate returns in a community property state, each spouse must report all of their separate income plus one half of the community income.


The nine community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

Why choose Married Filing Jointly instead of Married Filing Separately?

Generally Married Filing Jointly results in a smaller tax liability for married taxpayers.
  • The tax rate for Married Filing Jointly is lower than Married Filing Separately;
  • Generally, taxpayers must file jointly to claim various credits such as the Child and Dependent Care Credit, Credit for the Elderly and Disabled, the Hope of Lifetime Learning Credit, the Adoption Credit or the Earned Income Credit;
  • Taxpayers cannot take a deduction for student loan interest or the tuition and fees deduction if filing separate returns;
  • Roth IRA contributions generally cannot be made if filing separate return because of low phase-out amounts;
  • The taxpayer cannot make a contribution to a spousal IRA for a non-working spouse unless they file a joint return;
  • If they lived together at any time during the year, the taxpayers cannot convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA unless filing jointly;
  • Also if they lived together at any time, they will probably need to include in income more social security or railroad retirement benefits received than if they were to file a joint return;
  • Other deductions or credits may be limited when using the Married Filing Separate filing status.

Why choose Married Filing Separately instead of Married Filing Jointly?

In certain circumstances filing separate returns may result in a lower tax liability. 
  • Filing separately may sometime allow taxpayers to avoid part or all of a reduction in exemption amounts or certain itemized deductions due to income levels;
  • On a joint return, both taxpayers may be held responsible, jointly and individually, for the tax and any interest or penalty due. One spouse may be held responsible for all the tax due even if all the income was earned by the other spouse;
  • If the taxpayer and spouse have different tax years for reporting purposes;
  • One spouse is a nonresident alien and they do not make an election to be taxed on their worldwide income;
  • If a couple has filed separate returns, they have three years from the due date of the return (without regard to extensions) to change to a joint return. If a joint return is originally filed, they may not change to separate returns after the due date has passed;
  • If a joint return is filed and one spouse owes a back tax debt, part or all of the refund from the joint return can be taken to repay that dept, even if the only spouse that worked had no debt. However, the taxpayers may elect to file Form 8379, Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation to protect all or part of the refund.

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