Taxpayer asks:
My husband and I married June 2016. This would be the first year of us filing taxes together.
However my husband owes taxes and says he will be filing his taxes as single and not married.
I carry his last name and want to do things the correct way. I told him we can do the taxes as married but filing separately that way I am not responsible for his do taxes.
Can he or I get in trouble for him filing single?
Taxgirl says:
For federal income tax status, marital status is determined by state law as of the last day of the calendar year. If you are married on December 31, 2016, you are considered married for the 2016 tax year.
With that in mind, you must choose from one of five filing statuses on a federal tax return:
- Single;
- Married Filing Jointly (MFJ);
- Married Filing Separately (MFS);
- Head of Household; and
- Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child.
If you’re not married because you were never legally married or you were legally separated or divorced according to the laws of your state, you can file as single. You can’t file as single just because you feel single or want to file as single.
Similarly, married filing separate (MFS) doesn’t have anything to do with your living arrangements or your financial situation. MFS is a tax choice where married taxpayers opt to file separate returns (it’s typically less tax advantageous). If you choose to file MFS, you have to coordinate with your spouse. You must both file MFS and if one spouse chooses to itemize, the other must also itemize; if one spouse claims the standard deduction, the other must also claim the standard deduction.
Since you’re required to include your spouse’s Social Security Number on an MFS return, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can easily match tax returns. It’s likely that you’ll be flagged if one of you files as MFS and the other files as single. I would suggest that both of you chat about your filing options moving forward. If your husband wants to keep his taxes separate from yours (and vice versa), then you should both consider filing MFS.
Before you go: be sure to read my disclaimer. Remember, I’m a lawyer and we love disclaimers.
If you have a question, here’s how to Ask The Taxgirl.
