Hello everyone. This is my first post so I hope I am on the correct section.

I live in Texas, community property state, and I need to fill out an injured spouse with my tax return. I understand everything should be 50/50, however, I have 3 questions I need to see if someone could help with.

1. I get a W2 and I am the only one that has a job. Do I automatically put 50 percent since I am in a community property state?

2. My spouse and I both get 1099's. Are 1099' 50 percent or does my spouse go to her and I put my 1099 for mybself?

3. Child tax credit, do we allocate 50 percent even though the child tax credit go towards my children from a previous marriage?

So for example....

Let's say I make $50,000 a year. Do I automatically say $25,000 for me and $25,000 for my spouse?

Let's say I had a 1099 for $2000. Do I split in half my 1099?

Let's say my spouse had a 1099 for $1500. Is that split $750 between us both?

We are taking the standard deduction so there are no real other items to split on.


Thanks for any advice possible.

1. I get a W2 and I am the only one that has a job. Do I automatically put 50 percent since I am in a community property state?=====>>it depends; unless you file return in separation, since you live in a community property state of CA, you may need to make certain adjustments to your tax return to satisfy this special ownership requirement. Community property is a type of joint ownership between a husband and wife. The community property law emphasizes that any community income earned by a married couple is a result of both of their efforts regardless of who actually earned the income.
you and your spouse must typically split income if you file return in separation.
2. My spouse and I both get 1099's. Are 1099' 50 percent or does my spouse go to her and I put my 1099 for mybself?=====>same as above

3. Child tax credit, do we allocate 50 percent even though the child tax credit go towards my children from a previous marriage?=====>> To determine how much of the child tax credit you are entitled to receive, the IRS will recalculate your federal tax return using the married filing separately tax status. This means the IRS will recalculate your taxes and credits, including the child tax credit, based on your individual incomes. Be aware that the IRS recalculates your taxes this way only for the injured spouse allocation and does not require you to re-file your taxes under a different tax filing status to receive your percentage of the child tax credit.

So for example....

Let's say I make $50,000 a year. Do I automatically say $25,000 for me and $25,000 for my spouse?===>>in general, in CA state, aslongas you file tax return as married filing jointly, yes.however, as said if you file separately , then, no. As an injured spouse, you ask the IRS to pay attention to which member of the couple has a refund and which has the debt. When married taxpayers file a joint return, each spouse has an interest in the jointly reported income and in the debt. The IRS does not automatically distinguish between you and your partner when collecting tax dollars from either of you, even if the debt existed well before the marriage But it could ? if you file the injured spouse form


Let's say I had a 1099 for $2000. Do I split in half my 1099?

Let's say my spouse had a 1099 for $1500. Is that split $750 between us both?====>>assaid above.

We are taking the standard deduction so there are no real other items to split on=====>>ok. Then no problem in general,say, if you are married but filing separately, if one spouse itemizes deductions, the other must do so as well.

Hello, thank you for the reply.

I actually live in Texas. Not sure if my profile says CA, but I will change it if it does.

I am going to file jointly because the standard deduction gives us a better return.

We do not have any property (we rent) or any other property except for our vehicles, which mine is in my name and hers is in her name. So I am thinking it should be an easy form to fill out. However, I have never filled one out before so it seems hard and I cannot find any good examples.

My wife has a student loan from many years ago and last year they took 100% of our return. Since I have children from my previous marriage I depend on a return for my kids. This is where I get the child tax credit from. We do not have children together.

With your reply to my questions I am not sure what actually is considered "community income". I have a job and receive a W2, and sell a book online which I get a 1099, and it is only under my SSN. My wife has been getting a 1099 from something she used to do before we got married and receives a 1099 under her SSN. Both of our 1099's are less then $2000 each so it's not a huge amount. We got married in 2014 and we have not started any business or any other type of income based thing that we have both of our names on.

So, if those are our only income would any of them be considered "community income"?

Are they any places online that help fill out a form 8379? I am using turbotax, but it makes me put in the numbers and does not help with putting what number in which box.

Thank you in advanced.

Hello, thank you for the reply. I am sorry if this double replied. I am not sure if I replied correctly this first time, but added a few things in.

I actually live in Texas. Not sure if my profile says CA, but I will change it if it does.

I am going to file jointly because the standard deduction gives us a better return.

We do not have any property (we rent) or any other property except for our vehicles which her vehicle is in her name and my vehicle is in my name. So I am thinking it should be an easy form to fill out. However, I have never filled one out before so it seems hard since I cannot find any good examples.

My wife has a student loan from many years ago and last year they took 100% of our return. Since i have children from my previous marriage I depend on a return for my kids.

With your reply to my questions I am not sure what actually is considered "community income". I have a job and receive a W2, and sell a book online which I get a 1099, and it is only under my SSN. My wife has been getting a 1099 from something she used to do before we got married and receives a 1099 under her SSN. Both of our 1099's are less then $2000 each so it's not a huge amount. We both have not paid taxes on our 1099 and it comes out against what is owed back from my W2.

So, if those are our only income would any of them be considered "community income"?

Are there any places online that helps fill out an injured spouse form? I am using turbotax, but it makes me fill in the boxes and does not describe what needs to go where.

Thank you for your time.

I actually live in Texas. Not sure if my profile says CA, but I will change it if it does.========>in general,yes even if there is slight difference in detail among comm. Pty states.assets and income that you and your spouse can consider to be separate for tax purposes depend on the laws of your state . When you file jointly, you report all income from all assets. When you file separately, you must follow your state's definition of separate and community property.some comm. pty states consider income earned from separate property, such as dividends on stock owned prior to marriage, to be separate income reported only by the owning spouse on his return. Texas state considers it income earned equally by both spouses.
Knowing how your state distinguishes between shared and separate income and assets makes tax preparation.



I am going to file jointly because the standard deduction gives us a better return. ===>in general correct even though ometimes, filing mfs can be better than mfj

We do not have any property (we rent) or any other property except for our vehicles, which mine is in my name and hers is in her name. So I am thinking it should be an easy form to fill out. However, I have never filled one out before so it seems hard and I cannot find any good examples.

My wife has a student loan from many years ago and last year they took 100% of our return.===>you need to file f 8379that lets you (the "injured spouse") get back your portion of a jointly-filed refund if it's seized or offset to pay your spouse's debt.



Since I have children from my previous marriage I depend on a return for my kids. This is where I get the child tax credit from. We do not have children together.===>then, you can claim full child tax credit since the children are from your. Pre marriage.

With your reply to my questions I am not sure what actually is considered "community income". I have a job and receive a W2, and sell a book online which I get a 1099, and it is only under my SSN. My wife has been getting a 1099 from something she used to do before we got married and receives a 1099 under her SSN. Both of our 1099's are less then $2000 each so it's not a huge amount. We got married in 2014 and we have not started any business or any other type of income based thing that we have both of our names on.

So, if those are our only income would any of them be considered "community income"? ====>as said previously, as you said, since you filed your return jointly, married filing jointly, you still must combine your income with your spouse's and divide it proportionately according to the community property guidelines of your state. Community property is considered to be that which is acquired while the couple is married, and it cannot be otherwise identified as separate property. Community income is the income generated by such community property and the full earnings of each spouse. Say, if your spouse earns $2k this week, $1k of that is attributable to you. Under community property law, you both equally earned it.but assaid, you may choose to file either jointly or separately in community property states also. this is not your case, however say, you file return separately, I mean, married filing separation, then, you and your spouse each must attach your Form 8958 to your Form 1040 to identify your community and separate income, deductions, credits, and other return amounts according to the laws of your state.

Are they any places online that help fill out a form 8379? I am using turbotax, but it makes me put in the numbers and does not help with putting what number in which box.==>I guess it isnotthat difficult to fill outthe f8379. Youmay follow the instructions given step by step here

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8379.pdf

sorry I m not familiar with TT tax but you may hopefully get some help here

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/38...se-form-online