IRS Publication 555 Community Property outlines the requirements for filing the federal tax return for married filing separate spouses, California or Washington same-sex spouses, or registered domestic partners (RDPs) domiciled in Nevada, Washington, or California. See the publication for additional details and definitions.
TaxAct supports the completion of these returns so they can be e-filed. Below is a summary of the three-step process to file these returns using the TaxAct software. These instructions are to be used in conjunction with the information provided in IRS Publication 555.
Gather all documents received from employers, financial institutions, etc. that report income or deductions for either partner. Use IRS Publication 555 to determine if each item would qualify as community income/deduction or separate income/deduction. Unfortunately, there is not a way for the TaxAct program to calculate this allocation between the returns automatically because the two returns are not linked in any way. This is true whether the taxpayers are married or registered domestic partners (RDPs) or same-sex spouses, and whether the filing status is Single, Head of Household, or Married Filing Separately. Each taxpayer must determine the applicable split of income and deductions and then enter the appropriate amount in the federal program for their own return.
Separate income/deduction:
Separate income/deduction is generally income/deductions from separate property, and will only be entered on the return of the partner the income/deductions belongs to. Separate property is:
Separate income. Generally, income from separate property is the separate income of the spouse (or RDP/California) who owns the property.
CAUTION! In Idaho, Louisiana, Texas, and Wisconsin, income from most separate property is community income.
Community income/deduction:
Community income/deduction is generally income/deductions from community property and half will be entered on the return of each partner. Community property is:
Community income. Generally, community income is income from:
Special circumstances:
IRS Publication 555 has additional detailed information and examples to help determine whether income/deductions should be treated as Separate or Community and how to calculate items that are figured without regard to community property laws (e.g. IRA deductions and the Earned Income Credit). Each partner will take their own exemption on their own return and can decide between themselves which partner will take any dependent exemptions.
Note. There is a section in IRS Publication 555 titled "Community Property Laws Disregarded", however that section does not apply to RDPs.
Complete each partner's return by entering the information as follows (each return will reflect half of all community income for both partners and all of the separate income for that partner):
Separate income/deduction:
Enter these items only in the return of the partner that you have determined the income/deduction belongs to. Enter the entire amount in that return.
Community income/deduction:
Enter these items in each partner's return, entering only half of the amounts in each return.
Note. When community income is entered in the return, the Payer (or Employer) information will be entered as it appears on the form received. The Recipient name will be the name of the partner on the return the information is being entered on. For example, a W-2 received by Partner A will also be entered on Partner B's return (with only half of the amounts being entered). Partner B's name will appear on the W-2 in their return although it does not actually appear on the W-2 the employer issued. This is why the allocation worksheet on each return collects the information from both partners. The IRS is then able to match the total from both partners (e.g. for the W-2 forms) to the total of the W-2 forms received from the employers.
To enter W-2 income on each return (assuming there was a W-2 for each individual), generate two W-2s for the taxpayer on the return being completed. One should contain half of the taxpayer's W-2 entries (50%), and one should contain half of the partner's W-2 entries (50%). This second W-2 will be entered using the taxpayer's name, with the partner's employer information.
Follow the same method to enter the W-2 income on the partner's return.
In the TaxAct program, Form 8958 Allocation of Tax Amounts Between Certain Individuals in Community Property States outlines how the amounts were allocated between the partners' federal returns. The information on Form 8958 (in the tax return being reviewed) will already be allocated to the taxpayer in column 2. The partner's amounts from their separate return will need to be entered in column 3 to complete the form.
To access Form 8958 in the TaxAct program (the form won't be accessible if your address and filing status don't meet the requirements):
For registered domestic partnerships in California only: If domiciled in California, a separate TaxAct return must be completed with both partner's information entered on the federal return with the filing status of Married Filing Jointly selected - Do not file this federal return. Attach the California return to this federal return so the combined federal information will flow to the California return. File this California return. The combined federal return should equal the two federal forms that were completed for each partner separately. A copy of all three federal returns (and also the California return) should be maintained for documentation.
Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the webpage or document at the time it is accessed.