| Hi there, i hope someone can help! I'm a travelling nurse. I bought a house in Northern California February last year and stays in that house 10 days in a month then travel back to Southern California and live with my husband and children for 20 days in a rental house. I have 3 room mates in northern California who pays me check. My W2 reflects my address in NorCal and my husband's W2 shows Socal. I asked our accountant who told me that we can file married filing jointly using the address in Norcal and claim it as a primary residence. But how can i do that if my husband lives in a rented house and I have income from 3 renters? I am so confused. I dont want to make mistake and pay for the consequence. We can't use the house in Norcal as a second home because we are renting here in Socal and can't use it as a rental property because i live there too when i am there working. Any idea how to do it? Filing jointly or separately?=====>>it is up to you if youfuke your return as MFJ or MFS;since you are married, you have the option of filing your tax return jointly or separately. The majority of married couples file joint tax returns, but you should use the filing status that is most beneficial to your specific tax situation. When you file a tax return as mfj, you and your spouse both report your income, deductions, credits, and exemptions on the same tax return,
and you and your spouse are both responsible for each other's tax liability. You will be responsible for any tax, penalties, and interest that arises from this tax return, even if you reported no income on the return. If you and your spouse file as mfj, your tax may be lower than your combined tax would be for another filing status. Your standard deduction may be higher, and you may qualify for other tax benefits that do not apply to the other filing statuses.so, In most cases, it is more advantageous for a married couple to file a joint tax return. Filing jointly often means a bigger tax refund or a lower tax liability. However, this is not always the case. You may want to calculate your refund or balance due using both the mfj and mfs filing statuses. You can then use the filing status that gives you and your spouse the biggest refund or the lowest tax liability.
My husband can claim the rented house because he works from home 100 percent but i dont know whats best for our situation. So complicated!==============>>>>>>>I guess It depends on all the facts and circumstances of each case. Usually it is the home in which yoou live most of the time, whether yo own it or rent it; The mere fact that the property is or had been rented does not determine that it is not your principal residence. For example, if you buy your new residence before hou sell your old one, the fact that you temporarily rent out the new residence before you vacate the old one may not, in itself, prevent the new residence from being considered your principal residence.basically yu cannno t have two primary residences; you need to figure out which of the homes will be considered your primary residence and file your taxes accordingly. If you itemize deductions on Sch A, you can deduct qualified mortgage interest/ pty taxes or etc on your federal return; for your state return you need to contact CA BOE for more accurate info in detail.
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