Filing Joint Tax Returns with Common Law Marriage Status - Retroactive Amendment Possible?

This is actually an interesting situation. While I'm not a lawyer, I have some experience with tax matters involving marriage status. The key question here isn't just whether you were common law married, but whether you can prove it. Since you moved from South Carolina (where your common law marriage would have been established before the 2019 ruling) to Florida (which recognizes valid common law marriages from other states), you have a solid foundation. Evidence that would strengthen your case includes: joint bank accounts established in 2018, the property deed with both names, health insurance coverage, any documentation where you referred to each other as spouses, and any witnesses who understood you to be married. Regarding amending previous returns, yes, you can generally amend returns up to three years from the filing date. So if you filed on time, you should be able to amend 2020, 2021, and 2022 returns. Given the potential tax savings you've calculated, consulting with both a tax attorney and a CPA would be a very smart investment. The tax attorney can help establish the legal validity of your common law marriage, while the CPA can calculate the exact benefit of filing amended returns. Just be prepared to provide substantial documentation to support your claim of common law marriage status since 2018.

Wanted to share my experience with a similar situation where I needed to prove relationship status for tax purposes. I used taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was super helpful. After trying to gather all my documentation myself and getting overwhelmed, I used their service to analyze my financial documents, property records, and even social media history to build a case for my relationship status. They compiled everything into a professional report that clearly showed our financial interdependence and how we presented ourselves to others. What impressed me was how they found patterns in our financial behavior that I hadn't even thought about documenting - stuff like regular transfers between accounts, shared payment of household expenses, etc. For someone in your situation with potentially $80-120k at stake, having a systematic analysis of your evidence could make a huge difference in how the IRS views your amendment requests.

Just wanted to follow up - I actually tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread. I was in a different situation (proving business expenses rather than marriage status), but the principle was the same. Their system found patterns in my spending that I never would have spotted myself, and organized everything into a report that made it super clear which expenses qualified for deductions. I was honestly shocked at how thorough it was - they even flagged inconsistencies in my documentation that would have raised red flags with the IRS. Saved me from a potential audit headache and found about $12k in additional deductions I was entitled to. For the original poster with potentially $100k+ on the line, this kind of systematic approach seems like a no-brainer.

If you're going to amend multiple years of tax returns claiming married status, you should probably be aware of potential IRS contact issues. I had to do something similar (not marriage-related, but substantial amendments) and getting someone at the IRS to actually review my case was a nightmare. Busy signals, disconnects, hours on hold. I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it changed everything. They have this system where they wait on hold with the IRS for you and then call you when an actual agent is on the line. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Given the amount of money at stake in your situation, you're almost certainly going to need to speak with IRS agents multiple times. My amendments were way smaller dollar amounts than yours and still required multiple calls to sort everything out. Having a way to actually reach a human at the IRS without spending your whole day on hold is going to be crucial.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it for an amended return issue I've been trying to resolve for months. I'd been calling the IRS for weeks with no success - either couldn't get through or had to hang up after being on hold for over an hour due to work commitments. Used the Claimyr service yesterday and got connected to an IRS agent within 3 hours (while I went about my day), and the agent resolved my issue in about 15 minutes once I was connected. For someone dealing with potentially $100k+ in amended returns like the original poster, this service would be essential. The IRS is definitely going to want to talk to you about amendments of that size, probably multiple times, and having a way to actually reach them without spending days on hold is game-changing.

Just a heads up about common law marriage that I learned the hard way - the "holding out as married" part is super important. My partner and I were in a similar situation in Colorado (another common law state), and we thought we were covered because we had joint finances, owned property together, etc. When we tried to file taxes jointly, we got audited because we couldn't provide enough evidence that we actually presented ourselves as married to friends, family, and the community. We never used terms like "husband" and "wife," kept separate last names, and didn't have any documents where we checked "married" boxes. Before you go through the amendment process, collect evidence like: - Cards or invitations addressed to you as a married couple - Affidavits from friends/family who understood you to be married - Social media posts referring to each other as spouses - Any legal documents where you indicated married status - Evidence you celebrated anniversaries of your common law marriage The IRS takes this stuff seriously when there's significant money involved!

There's one thing nobody's mentioned yet that could be significant. If you DO amend as married filing jointly, be aware that both partners become jointly liable for the entire tax amount. This means if there are any issues with either person's reporting, both could be on the hook. Given the income disparity ($25-40k vs $470-950k), you might want to consider whether married filing separately might actually be better in some years than joint filing. Sometimes with very disparate incomes, the tax savings of joint filing aren't as large as you might expect. Also, think about whether you're planning to get formally married in the future. If you establish common law marriage for tax purposes now, you'd technically need a formal divorce if you ever split up, even without having had a wedding ceremony.

This is a fascinating case study in tax strategy! As someone who's dealt with complex filing situations, I'd strongly recommend getting professional help before proceeding, but your logic seems sound. One thing to consider: with your income levels, you'll want to run the numbers carefully for each year. Sometimes when one spouse has very high income and the other has low income, married filing jointly provides substantial savings due to income averaging effects, but other years it might not be as beneficial as expected due to phase-outs of deductions and credits. Also, keep in mind that amending returns of this magnitude will likely trigger enhanced scrutiny from the IRS. They'll want bulletproof documentation not just of your common law marriage status, but also of when exactly you became common law married. The July 2018 date when you moved to SC and merged finances will be critical - you'll need to show clear evidence that your relationship status changed at that specific time. Document everything: bank account opening dates, when you were added to health insurance, property records, any legal documents from that timeframe. The IRS will be looking for consistency in your story and timeline. Given the potential six-figure recovery, investing in quality legal and tax professional advice upfront could save you significant headaches later. Good luck!