Can we file jointly after December wedding but marriage license coming in January 2024?

As a tax preparer, I can clarify this situation for you. The IRS considers you married for the entire tax year if you're legally married on December 31st of that year. Based on what you've described, your legal marriage date will be in January 2024, which means you were not legally married on December 31, 2023. Unfortunately, despite having your ceremony in December, since the legal marriage won't be recognized until January 2024, you would need to file as single (or head of household if qualified) for the 2023 tax year. The IRS goes by your legal marriage date, not by when you had your ceremony or when you considered yourselves married. You'll be able to file jointly for the 2024 tax year, which you'll file in 2025. I know this probably isn't what you wanted to hear, but it's important to file correctly to avoid potential issues down the road.

I had a similar issue with complicated paperwork when I was trying to figure out some tax stuff around my marriage. I ended up using https://taxr.ai to analyze my situation and it saved me so much stress. Their system reviewed my exact circumstances and gave me a really clear answer about my filing status based on the specific timing of my marriage certificate. What I liked is they actually looked at the IRS rules specific to my state (since marriage laws vary by state) and explained exactly how the timing would impact my taxes. You upload your documents and they give you a detailed analysis that I found super helpful for this exact kind of confusing situation.

Just wanted to update everyone. I used taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was exactly what we needed. We uploaded our wedding certificate and explained our situation about the delayed license. They confirmed what the tax preparer here said but also provided us with some options we hadn't considered. They explained that while we can't file jointly for 2023, there are certain deductions and credits we can maximize by filing separately in a way that minimizes our overall tax burden. They even calculated the difference between what we'd pay filing one way versus another. Really helpful service and saved us from making a mistake on our taxes that could have caused problems later.

If you're having trouble getting a straight answer from the IRS about your filing status, I'd recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I had a similar weird tax situation last year and spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS with no luck. Someone told me about Claimyr and I was honestly skeptical, but they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for over a week. The IRS agent gave me the official answer about my filing status situation and I felt so much better filing with confidence. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Basically they navigate the IRS phone tree for you and call you back when they've got an agent on the line. Saved me hours of frustration.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still desperate to talk to the IRS about a complicated tax situation similar to the OP's, so I figured I had nothing to lose and tried it. It actually worked exactly as described. They called me back in about 20 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. The agent confirmed that you have to go by the legal marriage date for tax filing purposes, not the ceremony date. Saved me hours of frustration and waiting. Never been happier to be wrong about something!

My understanding is that common law marriage might apply in your state and could potentially help your situation. Some states recognize common law marriages if you've lived together, presented yourselves as married, etc. If your state recognizes common law marriage and you met those requirements before Dec 31, you might still be able to file jointly regardless of the license date.

Quick question - if we filed jointly anyway, what's the risk? Would the IRS even know or care about the difference between our ceremony date and our official license date? My cousin said they filed jointly the year before their marriage license and nothing happened.

I went through something very similar last year! We had our ceremony in November but didn't get our marriage license properly filed until February due to some bureaucratic delays with our county clerk's office. The key thing I learned is that the IRS is very strict about the legal marriage date - it has to be by December 31st of the tax year. Even though we felt married after our ceremony, we had to file separately for that year since we weren't legally married until the following February. I know it's frustrating, especially since you've been living as a married couple, but Andre's advice is spot on. The good news is that once you're legally married in January 2024, you'll be able to file jointly for the 2024 tax year. And honestly, depending on your incomes, filing separately for 2023 might not hurt you as much as you think - sometimes the difference isn't as big as people expect. Just make sure you keep all your documentation about the ceremony dates versus the legal marriage date in case you ever need to explain the timeline to the IRS later. Congratulations on your marriage, even if the paperwork timing is a hassle!

I just wanted to chime in as someone who works in a tax office and sees these kinds of situations fairly regularly. Unfortunately, what everyone has said is correct - the IRS goes strictly by your legal marriage date, not your ceremony date. I know it feels unfair since you've been living as a married couple, but the tax code is very specific about this. One thing that might help ease the sting a bit: make sure you're both maximizing any individual tax benefits you can claim for 2023. Things like retirement account contributions, educational credits, or other deductions might actually work out better when you're filing separately depending on your income levels. Also, don't forget that once you file jointly starting in 2024, you'll have the option to amend previous years' returns if it would be beneficial (though in this case, since you weren't legally married in 2023, that wouldn't apply). The silver lining is that this is really just a one-time paperwork headache. By next tax season, you'll be all set to file jointly and this whole confusing situation will be behind you. Congratulations on your marriage, and don't let the tax complications overshadow what should be a happy time!