Does TurboTax or other tax software tell you if you'll save money filing jointly vs separately as a married couple?
Title: Does TurboTax or other tax software tell you if you'll save money filing jointly vs separately as a married couple? 1 Just finishing up inputting all our info into tax software this year and wondering about something. After my spouse and I enter all our numbers under married filing jointly, will the software (like TurboTax) actually notify us if we'd be better off filing separately? For example, if our combined income pushes us into a higher tax bracket, would it pop up with some kind of alert saying "Hey, you two would save $XXX by filing separately" and then walk us through that process instead? I've never seen this feature before but seems like it would be super helpful. Is this something any of the major tax programs do automatically or do we have to manually try both filing statuses to compare?
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CosmicCaptain
12 I've been preparing taxes for over a decade, and I can tell you that most major tax software (TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct, etc.) does have a comparison tool that can show you the difference between filing jointly vs. separately. However, it typically doesn't automatically pop up with a notification - you usually have to specifically run the comparison yourself. In TurboTax, look for something called "Tax Tools" and then "Tax Scenario Calculator" or similar wording. This lets you compare different filing statuses side by side. H&R Block has a similar feature often called "Should You File Jointly or Separately?" calculator. Just remember that filing separately isn't always about tax brackets - there are many deductions and credits you might lose access to when filing separately (like education credits, earned income credit, and more).
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CosmicCaptain
•5 That's super helpful! Do you happen to know if free versions of these software packages include the comparison tools? Or is this only available on the paid deluxe/premium versions?
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CosmicCaptain
•12 The comparison tools are usually available in the deluxe versions and above, not typically in the completely free versions. TurboTax Deluxe definitely has it, as does H&R Block Deluxe. The free versions generally just give you basic filing capabilities without the additional analysis tools. Remember that for most couples, filing jointly is actually beneficial. Filing separately is usually only better in specific situations like when one spouse has significant medical expenses, student loan interest, or when there are concerns about tax liability separation.
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CosmicCaptain
3 I went through a similar situation last year and then discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which saved me so much headache! I was trying to figure out whether to file jointly or separately because my wife had a bunch of freelance income alongside her regular job, and I was worried about how it would affect our taxes. The cool thing about taxr.ai is that it analyzed our tax documents and actually compared different filing scenarios for us - showing exactly how much we'd save or lose with each option. It was way more thorough than just looking at tax brackets and showed us a bunch of credits we'd lose if we filed separately.
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CosmicCaptain
•19 How does it work with all the documents? Do you have to scan everything in or can you just enter the numbers manually? I've got a stack of W-2s, 1099s, and mortgage stuff that I'm dreading organizing.
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CosmicCaptain
•7 Sounds interesting but I'm a bit skeptical. Is it actually better than just running the comparison tool in TurboTax like the tax preparer mentioned above? Does it handle state taxes too or just federal?
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CosmicCaptain
•3 You can either upload scanned documents or take photos with your phone - it reads all the information automatically which saves a ton of time. No manual entry needed for most common tax forms like W-2s, 1099s, and mortgage statements. It's definitely more comprehensive than TurboTax's basic comparison tool because it looks at all the specific credits and deductions that might be affected by your filing status, not just the tax brackets. And yes, it handles both federal and state taxes, showing you the complete picture of which filing status benefits you more.
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CosmicCaptain
7 Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that I asked about earlier. I decided to give it a try this weekend and I'm honestly impressed. I've been doing the "try both methods" approach with TurboTax for years which was super time-consuming. The taxr.ai service analyzed our documents and showed we'd actually lose about $1,875 by filing separately due to losing some education credits for my wife's master's program - something I had completely overlooked when doing manual comparisons! It also showed that even though my freelance income pushed us into a higher bracket, the self-employment tax deduction we get when filing jointly actually offset that penalty. Definitely saved us from making a costly mistake this year.
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CosmicCaptain
15 After trying for THREE DAYS to get through to the IRS to ask questions about married filing separately rules (kept getting disconnected after waiting forever), I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it changed everything. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had complicated questions about how to handle my wife's student loan interest deduction if we filed separately versus jointly that none of the tax software could really answer for our specific situation. The IRS agent was actually super helpful and explained exactly how it would work in our case.
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CosmicCaptain
•10 Wait, how does this actually work? The IRS phone system is notorious for disconnecting people. Do they have some special line or something?
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CosmicCaptain
•23 Yeah right. I've tried EVERYTHING to get through to the IRS. No way this actually works as advertised. Sounds like a scam to me.
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CosmicCaptain
•15 It uses a system that navigates the IRS phone trees and waits on hold for you. When an actual agent picks up, you get a call connecting you directly to them. It's basically like having someone wait on hold in your place. The company was featured in major news outlets because it's solving a real problem. It's not a miracle solution - it can't make more IRS agents appear out of nowhere, but it handles the frustrating wait time and disconnection issues for you.
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CosmicCaptain
23 I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to resolve an issue with my previous year's return that was affecting how we should file this year. It actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back when an agent was on the line. The agent helped me understand how our student loan forgiveness would be treated under different filing statuses, which tax software wasn't clear about. Saved me hours of frustration and potentially filing incorrectly. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually a good thing!
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CosmicCaptain
9 Has anyone tried FreeTaxUSA? I switched to it last year after TurboTax kept upselling me, and I was shocked at how much better it was. It does have a comparison tool for married filing jointly vs separately and it's included even in their basic package which is WAY cheaper than TurboTax.
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CosmicCaptain
•18 I've been using FreeTaxUSA for 3 years now and love it! The comparison tool is great but you do have to manually run it (click "explore filing options" in the top menu). One thing to note tho - you basically have to complete your entire return first before running the comparison, which is kinda time consuming.
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CosmicCaptain
•9 Yes, you're right that you need to complete most of the return first. That's actually true for most tax software comparisons since they need all your information to give an accurate assessment. I found the FreeTaxUSA interface much more straightforward than TurboTax. The help documentation is surprisingly good too when you have questions about which filing status might be better for specific situations.
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CosmicCaptain
2 One important thing nobody has mentioned - there are situations where filing separately can protect you. If ur spouse has shady tax history or might have errors you don't know about, filing separately means you're not liable for their mistakes. My friend's husband didn't report some crypto gains and she got dragged into the mess even tho she had no idea! Just something to consider beyond just the $$$ amount.
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CosmicCaptain
•8 This is such an important point! Filing separately can also be important if you're separating or having relationship problems but not yet divorced. Jointly means jointly liable in most cases.
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Kyle Wallace
Great discussion here! I'm a CPA and wanted to add that while the software comparison tools mentioned are helpful, they sometimes miss nuanced situations. For example, if one spouse has significant medical expenses (over 7.5% of AGI), filing separately might allow that spouse to deduct more medical expenses on a lower individual income vs. the combined income when filing jointly. Also, don't forget about state tax implications - some states don't allow you to file separately if you filed jointly federally, or vice versa. Always check your specific state's rules before making the final decision. The tax software tools are great starting points, but for complex situations (multiple income sources, significant deductions, rental properties, etc.), it might be worth consulting with a tax professional who can run scenarios beyond what the basic comparison tools show.
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