Can I claim single on my taxes even though I'm married?

Question

My wife owes money on student loans and has her tax return garnished every year, I want to keep my return, What should I do?

Answer 1

No, if you are married you can never file as Single. You must either file Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.

If you file a separate return your refund cannot be taken for her unpaid student loan debt. Of course, filing separate returns will result in higher total taxes for both of you.

If you file a joint return, you can file a Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation to protect your share of any refund due. You should file a paper return and attach the Form 8379 to the return. It will take 8 to 10 weeks to process your return and the ISA but you will get your share of any refund coming. Although it's possible to e-file and follow up with the Form 8379 separately there may be significant delays in getting your portion of any refund due.

Answer 2

Uh, no you can't file single when you're married.

There is a way to keep your share of the refund though. File an innocent spouse form with your joint return. You could also file as married filing separately, but that would probably cost you extra in taxes.

Answer 3

You could file "married filing separately". If you file as single, which I'm not sure is legal, know that "single" will put you in a higher tax bracket.
You didn't ask, but, you're married - you have to take the good with the bad...so you should both sit down and talk about finances. Step up to the plate and work out financial arrangements to pay her student loans. Its the right thing to do.

Answer 4

It's a tough call. If you were married anytime last year filing as a non married individual is unwise and could cause audit issues for you.

Most tax garnishments are on federal student loans. Often your lender will have a program to help you get back on track (even at reduced payment options) if you call and ask for help. Anyone who is making regular payments, even if they are adjusted for one of these programs can be relieved from garnishments saving you and your wife the hassles. Your best bet is to call your lender (or servicer) and discuss what your options are.

If you don't have these numbers don't hesitate to give me a ring. I have access to the National Student Loan Database System and can look it up for you.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

You can file "married filing separately", but I don't recommend it. Instead, file an "innocent spouse" form (info & form below to see if you qualify). This will allow you to receive your portion of the refund. Married-filing-jointly is the worst tax filing status. At any rate, they will do this until hell freezes over, so I hope you guys will think about working out a payment plan on these loans. We use Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" book. It has helped us get control of our finances & pay off tons of debt. It is not a quick fix, but it IS a simple, workable plan for getting your financial act together. At the very least, you can get your debts under control & stop having your refunds garnished. You can also adjust your W-4s so you don't end up getting a refund (or at least get less of one). However, that will not prevent the federales from eventually collecting this debt. You do not want to wait until it gets to that point. Just get on a plan to pay it back or it will haunt you forever.

Best wishes.

Answer 6

You can file married filing single, but you may end owing more for the single deduction. I would suggest to your wife that she stops having her student loans deducted from her taxes. There are ways if you cannot afford to pay your student loans to have them deferred. Or to have a smaller payment set up so she is not defaulting and losing all of her return as well. Check out this website and help your wife get to a stable point for both of your credit and sanity.
http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/repaying_loans/2003_2004/english/repayment-options-deferment.htm

Answer 7

You cannot file as single, but you can file married filing separately. Depending on what state you live in, your refund may still get garnished though.

Answer 8

My first answer is, PAY OF THE STUDENT LOANS. That said, you can't file 'single' as long as you are married. You can file 'married filing separately' or 'married filing jointly' and claim "innocent spouse" status. If you qualify, the IRS will determine what portion of the return is 'yours' and what portion is 'your spouse's'. Your portion will be refunded and hers will be offset for the loans.

Answer 9

You can't claim single if you're legally married.

I'd double check with an accountant, but I think filing separately will resolve the problem (so married filing separately instead of married filing jointly)

good luck!

Answer 10

you cannot claim single as long as your are married but you can go ahead and file as ''married filing seperate''. even if you are seperated from your spouse, you can only file as head of household if u have dependants and not as ''single''.