Husband is going through his clearance for secret as a contractor. We got married back in July but have a daughter together. If we were both to file our taxes as married but filing separate affect his clearance? Or specifically his current investigation? He is persistent it is, but I see nothing online except if he were to have tax issues as in debt. I don’t believe it is an issue hence, the IRS even gives you the option to file separate. I would like to continue to file my taxes on my own.
Filing separately should have no effect on his clearance. But, it is rarely beneficial to file separately unless one of you has tax debt. You will likely pay more in taxes and, if you use a professional, pay more to get your taxes done. You lose many available credits as well. This, I believe, includes the Child Tax Credit, which doubles to $2000 this year.
Go to a professional (come to me if you are in South Jersey or Philly!) Their software should allow them to do a joint return and tell you how much more in taxes you will pay if you file separate.
So . . . It sounds like YOU want to go MFS? Why?
Ed does it for a living so I think he understands the filing part. I see no impact to clearance unless one of you is delinquent, or claimed to be delinquent by the IRS. That doesn’t always equate to really being delinquent. I file according to the law that is most beneficial to me personally and my bottom line.