W-2 Married Filing Separately

Married couples who are filing a separate return get stuck whether or not to attach the spouse’s W-2 on their tax return. When you’re filing a separate return, you’re basically filing your taxes as if you are single.

So everything that goes into your tax return is solely about your income. The income you report is yours-you’re not going to attach any Form W-2 other than the one you received yourself from your employer. Do not attach your spouse’s Form W-2 or other information returns that report the income she or he earned during the tax year. Your separate tax return should only include your tax documents, not your spouse’s.

Just a side note though, consider filing a joint return as you’ll miss out on certain tax deductions when filing federal income tax returns separately. Many tax deductions available to most taxpayers like the IRA deduction have a reduced income threshold for married couples filing a separate return. The IRA deduction is a good example of this as those who are filing a separate return literally are not able to claim any deduction due to the $10,000 income threshold. If you made more than $10,000, you won’t get to deduct your IRA contributions. So filing a joint return should be a consideration.

Given that you’re already looking for answers on filing a separate return, you should’ve already figured that out. All in all, you don’t need to attach your spouse’s Form W-2 to your tax return when filing a separate return.