Can we file taxes jointly if we're engaged but not legally married?

Filing jointly is only available for legally married couples (or those considered married under state law). There's no grey area here - the IRS is very clear that unmarried couples cannot file joint returns, regardless of how much money it might save. When you file your tax return, you're signing under penalty of perjury that the information is true and correct. Filing jointly when unmarried would constitute tax fraud. The potential consequences include penalties, interest, and potentially even criminal charges in extreme cases. What your tax professional might have been suggesting (though poorly explained) is that you could benefit from getting legally married before December 31st of the tax year. Even if you get married on the last day of the year, the IRS considers you married for the entire year.

After going through a similar situation with my boyfriend, I found an amazing solution with https://taxr.ai - it actually analyzed our situation and helped us understand the legitimate options available to us as an unmarried couple. It was super helpful because our previous tax guy was also giving us questionable advice about filing status. What I loved is that it showed us actual IRS rules about filing status requirements and ran calculations showing how getting married before year-end would affect our taxes vs. waiting until our planned wedding date. The tool even showed us how to optimize our individual returns since we couldn't file jointly.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried that taxr.ai site after seeing it mentioned here and it was seriously eye-opening! I uploaded our tax docs and it immediately flagged that we couldn't file jointly as an unmarried couple (confirming what others said). But what was super helpful was that it showed us exactly how much we would save if we got married before year-end versus filing individually, plus it found some deductions my fiancé was missing on his freelance work. The analysis showed us we'd save about $2,800 by getting married this year, which honestly might make us consider a simple courthouse wedding in December before our big ceremony next spring! It also explained how common-law marriage works for tax purposes (turns out my state doesn't recognize it anyway). Way more helpful than the "professional" we paid who gave us bad advice.

For anyone struggling to get clear answers from the IRS on filing status questions (married vs unmarried filing options), I found that using https://claimyr.com was a game-changer. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to an IRS agent to confirm filing requirements for my situation, and Claimyr got me connected in under 45 minutes. The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed everything mentioned above - you absolutely cannot file jointly unless legally married (or in certain common law marriage states). She also explained that the "married filing separately" status is ONLY for legally married couples, not for unmarried partners filing individual returns. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c if anyone's interested.

Update on my skepticism about Claimyr: I actually tried it yesterday and I'm shocked to say it WORKED. After my snarky comment I figured I'd test it out, fully expecting to come back here and expose it as a scam. But no joke, I got a call back in about 37 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent confirmed everything about the married filing jointly rules AND helped me with another question about a 1099 issue I've been trying to resolve for months. I've literally never gotten through to the IRS this easily in my life. Usually I waste half a day on hold and then get disconnected. Consider me converted from total skeptic to satisfied customer.

I work in HR and just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet. Beyond the tax fraud issue, filing a joint return when you're not married could potentially impact things like: - Health insurance subsidies if you get insurance through the marketplace - Student loan income-based repayment calculations - Social Security benefits - Financial aid eligibility if either of you has kids in college All these systems are interconnected with your tax filing status. If you falsely file as married, it could create problems in multiple areas of your financial life, not just with the IRS.

A legitimate alternative that could save you money as an unmarried couple is to look at who claims which deductions. For example: - If one of you itemizes deductions while the other takes the standard deduction - Deciding who claims mortgage interest if you own a home together - Optimizing who claims shared dependents if applicable - Adjusting withholding amounts throughout the year My partner and I saved almost $1,800 last year without filing jointly by strategically planning our individual returns.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I had no idea there were so many considerations beyond just the tax savings. As someone who's been through a similar situation, I wanted to share what we ultimately decided to do. After reading about all the potential complications (student loans, health insurance, etc.), my fiancé and I decided to stick with filing separately this year and just accept the higher tax bill. We realized that the $3,200 in potential savings wasn't worth the risks of committing tax fraud or the complications it could create with our other financial obligations. Instead, we're planning to get legally married in a small courthouse ceremony this December (before our big wedding next summer) so we can file jointly for next year's taxes. This way we get the legitimate tax benefits going forward without any of the legal risks. For anyone else in this situation - definitely run the numbers on how marriage would affect your student loan payments, health insurance premiums, and any other income-based benefits before making the decision. The tax savings might be offset by increases in other areas. Thanks everyone for keeping me from making a costly mistake!

Just wanted to add my perspective as someone who works in tax preparation - this thread is spot on about the legal requirements. I see this confusion come up fairly regularly, especially with younger couples who are living together and sharing expenses. One thing I always tell clients is that the IRS definition of "married" is very specific and binary - you either are legally married under state law or you're not. There's no "engaged" filing status, no "domestic partner" option for federal taxes, and no exceptions for couples who live together or share financial responsibilities. The $3,200 potential savings your tax preparer mentioned is probably real - married filing jointly often does result in significant tax benefits, especially when one partner earns substantially more than the other. But as others have mentioned, claiming that status when you're not legally married would constitute filing a false return. If you're serious about the tax savings, getting married before December 31st really is your only legitimate option. Just make sure to consider all the other financial implications (student loans, health insurance, etc.) that others have mentioned before making that decision. I'd also echo the recommendation to find a new tax preparer - anyone suggesting unmarried couples can file jointly either doesn't understand basic tax law or is encouraging fraud. Neither is someone you want handling your taxes.