If I'm married, whose name do I enter first?
If you are filing Married Filing Separately, use your name as the taxpayer.
If you are filing Married Filing Jointly for the first time, you can put either name first.
If you filed as Married Filing Jointly last year, make sure the person filing as the taxpayer this year is the same person who filed as the taxpayer last year. It doesn't matter which spouse is listed first, as long as you use the same order as your previous tax return.
For example, if John and Mary filed their return last year with John listed as the taxpayer and Mary listed as the spouse, they should put John's information on the Taxpayer Information screen and Mary's on the Spouse Information screen, even if Mary is the one actually entering the information.
The IRS instructions state to keep your names in the same order as your previous tax return. If you switch the names it can delay the IRS's processing of your tax return and your refund.
If you are filing Married Filing Jointly for the first time, you can put either name first.
If you filed as Married Filing Jointly last year, make sure the person filing as the taxpayer this year is the same person who filed as the taxpayer last year. It doesn't matter which spouse is listed first, as long as you use the same order as your previous tax return.
For example, if John and Mary filed their return last year with John listed as the taxpayer and Mary listed as the spouse, they should put John's information on the Taxpayer Information screen and Mary's on the Spouse Information screen, even if Mary is the one actually entering the information.
The IRS instructions state to keep your names in the same order as your previous tax return. If you switch the names it can delay the IRS's processing of your tax return and your refund.
