I’ve searched the sub and have seen a lot of this topic, sorry for another post but I was wondering if I added some extra context to the question.
Wife and I have been married five years. Always filed separately. No specific reason as to why other than an accountant friend once telling us it “didn’t really make a difference”
Wife and I are now revisiting the question and I am
Hoping to get a little more advice.
-No children/dependents.
-We both make nearly the same annual income.
-Both claim 1 on W4
-I own the home we live in (mortgage only in my name as I purchased in 2012 prior to meeting her in 2015.) she writes me a check monthly for half the mortgage payment. (Not a large amount)
-No student loans for me. She just got her remaining balance forgiven this year.
Do any of these facts make any difference either way? Any pros or cons continuing to file separate or joint?
If you use a CPA or EA, ask them to run the numbers both ways. Sometimes it matters sometimes not. No way to know for sure without running your actual numbers.
Jai said:
If you use a CPA or EA, ask them to run the numbers both ways. Sometimes it matters sometimes not. No way to know for sure without running your actual numbers.
This. It’s so easy to click a button and compare MFS/MFJ. Honestly, you should have them do it for past years too and amend, because I’m thinking you’ve missed some cash based on this question.
In your situation, there probably is very little benefit to filing jointly. Presumably with a 12 year old mortgage, you’re both taking the standard deduction, and now that student loans aren’t a consideration, that doesn’t change the calculus. As long as your incomes are similar and you have no children, don’t itemize and don’t normally get any other credits (EIC, education credits, etc.) filing separately shouldn’t hurt you. Tax preparers can put in all your information and do a quick determination on which status is most beneficial. Unsure if that’s something that you can do with DIY software.
As others have eluded to hard to know without running the actual numbers. Generally, I thought the only reason to file separately was to keep legal responsibilities separate - you can’t be held liable for each other’s returns. Outside of that the only benefit I can think of is it one of you would qualify for EIC as single or one of you could take all the expenses itemized while the other claims standard and therefore get more deductions than you normally would.