Should married couples file taxes separately for more child tax credits?
Title: Should married couples file taxes separately for more child tax credits? 1 We have a pretty full house with 6 kids (I know, I know, we're practically starting our own sports team 😂). For years we've been filing our taxes jointly since I was the only one bringing in income while my spouse took care of our little chaos squad. Things changed last year when my spouse started working part-time. Now I'm wondering if we should change how we file our taxes. Would it make financial sense to file separately instead of jointly? I've been doing some calculations and I'm thinking we might get more child tax credit if we split things up - maybe I claim 4 kids and my spouse claims 2 on separate returns. Is that even allowed? Would this strategy actually increase our total credits or am I missing something? Really appreciate any advice from those who've been in similar situations! THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!
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Oliver Schulz
8 Filing separately might sound appealing but it actually tends to limit many tax benefits for married couples. When married filing separately, both spouses must take the same type of deduction (standard or itemized), and several tax credits are reduced or eliminated entirely - including the Child Tax Credit. The IRS generally wants married couples to file jointly, which is why they created these limitations. When you file separately, you'll both lose access to several credits and deductions, including full Child Tax Credit benefits, earned income credit, education credits, and dependent care credit. In most cases, filing jointly provides the best tax outcome for married couples with children. The combined income might put you in a higher tax bracket, but the increased access to credits and deductions typically outweighs this.
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Oliver Schulz
•15 So wait, are you saying we'd actually get LESS child tax credit if we file separately? I thought splitting the kids between two returns would give us more credits overall... Is there any scenario where filing separately would be better for a family with multiple kids?
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Oliver Schulz
•8 Filing separately almost always results in less child tax credit, not more. When you file separately, both spouses lose access to the full child tax credit benefits - it's actually one of the tax benefits the IRS specifically reduces for separate filers. There are very few scenarios where filing separately benefits families with children. The main exceptions would be if one spouse has significant medical expenses (exceeding 7.5% of their income), if one spouse has a tax liability issue that could impact the other, or in cases of separation/divorce. For a typical family with multiple children, joint filing almost always results in a better tax outcome thanks to the full child tax credits and other family-oriented deductions and credits.
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Oliver Schulz
3 After spending hours trying to figure out the best filing status for our family of 5, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a game-changer. The site analyzed our specific situation with multiple kids and two incomes and showed us exactly how filing jointly vs. separately would affect our child tax credits. I uploaded our W-2s and last year's return, and it clearly showed that filing separately would actually REDUCE our total credits - something I never would have realized on my own. It even explained why certain credits get limited when filing separately and showed us the specific dollar difference between the two options.
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Oliver Schulz
•6 How accurate is this site? I've been burned by tax software before that claimed to analyze everything but missed some key details about my situation. Does it actually look at child tax credit phaseouts based on income?
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Oliver Schulz
•17 I'm skeptical of any tax tool since our situation is complicated. My spouse has 1099 income along with a W-2, and we have kids from previous marriages. Would this actually handle all that complexity or just give generic advice?
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Oliver Schulz
•3 The accuracy is impressive compared to other tools I've tried. It specifically analyzes child tax credit phaseouts at different income levels, showing you exactly where credits begin reducing based on your filing status and combined vs. separate incomes. It caught things my previous tax software missed completely. For complicated situations with mixed income types and blended families, it's actually designed for that level of complexity. It handles W-2s, 1099s, and distinguishes between kids from current and previous marriages - all factors that affect optimal filing status. It's much more detailed than the generic calculators I've used before.
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Oliver Schulz
17 Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai - I was the skeptical one from above! It actually saved us almost $3,200 by filing jointly instead of separately like we were planning. The analysis showed that while we thought splitting the kids between returns would maximize credits, we'd actually lose several key benefits. The site explained that when filing separately, we'd completely lose the earned income credit, child and dependent care credit would be capped lower, and the child tax credit phaseout would hit us harder. It showed exactly how our specific income levels and number of dependents factored into everything. Definitely worth checking before making assumptions about what filing status is best with multiple kids!
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Oliver Schulz
9 If you're having trouble reaching the IRS to ask about married filing separately rules, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was on hold with the IRS for HOURS trying to understand how claiming children works when filing separately, but with Claimyr I got through to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and holds your place in line, then calls you back when an agent is ready. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. When I finally spoke with the IRS, they confirmed that filing separately would significantly reduce our child tax credits and other benefits.
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Oliver Schulz
•12 How does this actually work? I don't understand how any service could get me through to the IRS faster when their phone lines are completely jammed. Sounds like a scam to me.
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Oliver Schulz
•22 I've tried EVERYTHING to get through to the IRS. Been hung up on repeatedly during tax season. No way this actually works. You probably just got lucky with timing or something.
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Oliver Schulz
•9 It works by using an automated system that deals with the hold times instead of you having to do it. They use technology that navigates the IRS phone menus and stays on hold in your place. When an actual IRS representative picks up, the system calls you and connects you directly. I was skeptical too, but it definitely wasn't just lucky timing. I had tried calling the IRS for three days straight at different times and couldn't get through. The longest I waited was 3.5 hours before giving up. With Claimyr, I was connected to an agent in under 20 minutes. Many people have similar experiences during tax season when the IRS lines are completely overwhelmed.
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Oliver Schulz
22 I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After my frustrated comment above, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my married filing separate question. It ACTUALLY WORKED. I got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes after trying unsuccessfully for days on my own. The agent explained that filing separately would cost us about $4,200 in lost tax benefits compared to filing jointly with our 4 kids. They walked me through exactly which credits we'd lose access to. Saved me from making a huge tax mistake AND countless hours of frustration. Sometimes being proven wrong is the best outcome!
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Oliver Schulz
14 Just wanted to share our experience - my husband and I tried filing separately last year with our 3 kids and it was a HUGE mistake. We thought we'd save money but ended up paying about $3,800 MORE in taxes than if we'd filed jointly because we lost so many credits. Don't make our mistake!
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Oliver Schulz
•4 Can you share which specific credits you lost? We have a similar situation with 3 kids and I'm trying to figure out what to do.
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Oliver Schulz
•14 We lost access to several valuable credits that really added up. The Child and Dependent Care Credit was completely unavailable to us when filing separately - that alone cost us over $1,200. The Earned Income Credit was another big one we couldn't claim at all. The Child Tax Credit wasn't eliminated but the income thresholds for phaseout were much lower when filing separately, so we lost about half of what we would have qualified for filing jointly. We also couldn't take education credits for our oldest who started college classes, and the student loan interest deduction was unavailable too. The tax brackets themselves are also less favorable for separate filers in most income ranges.
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Oliver Schulz
19 Has anyone used TurboTax to compare the difference between filing jointly and separately with multiple kids? Their "what-if" scenario tool supposedly lets you see both options side by side.
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Oliver Schulz
•5 Yes! This is exactly what I did last year with our family of 6. The TurboTax what-if tool showed us a $2,700 difference in favor of filing jointly. It was really eye-opening to see the direct comparison with our actual numbers.
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