Were you legally married on December 31st? Then by IRS law you must file a “Married” tax return for the entire year. The IRS does not allow for a split year. You file based on your status at 12/31.
Married taxpayers in the US can choose to file separately from their spouse. Generally, this will cost you more in tax than filing jointly. The calculations are complicated!
There are several reasons filing separately, even at the extra cost makes sense.
The reason I see most often is one spouse wants to limit their exposure to tax liabilities. Spouses filing jointly have joint and several liability. That means that both spouses are responsible for the accuracy of a joint tax return and the payment of the entire tax due. Spouses who file separately are only responsible for their own filing accuracy and tax due.
Can you see how there may be many situations where one spouse is more or less risk averse than the other and chooses to file separately? If this is a concern to you, please discuss with your tax profesiional so that you completely understand the cost vs benefit analysis here.
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