Registered domestic partners may not file a federal return using a married filing separately or jointly filing status. Therefore, these taxpayers are not married for federal tax purposes.

Can you claim a domestic partnership on your taxes?

To claim your domestic partner as a dependent on your taxes, your partner must meet the requirements of a qualifying dependent. Your partner must have lived with you the entire year and you must have paid at least half of your partner’s support.

Can a domestic partner file a joint tax return?

Also, even if domestic partners can file a joint state tax return, they can only file individual federal tax returns unless they are legally married. How you handle state tax forms depends on which community property state you call home.

Can an unmarried couple file a tax return?

Hello, I’m Jill from TurboTax with some interesting information about the filing status options available to unmarried taxpayers. Because of preferential tax brackets that apply to the married filing jointly status, couples who file a joint return will oftentimes pay less income tax in comparison to filing separately.

Can a married couple claim their domestic partner as a dependent?

While this means that same-sex couples cannot file a federal tax return using a married status, the law does not exclude claiming a domestic partner as a dependent. If the relationship between you and your partner violates any state or local laws, you cannot claim your partner as a dependent.

What happens to your taxes when you file jointly?

Because of preferential tax brackets that apply to the married filing jointly status, couples who file a joint return will oftentimes pay less income tax in comparison to filing separately. In addition, joint filers are eligible to take a standard deduction that’s double that of a single taxpayer.