IRS: Submit together or separately? Find out what is more advantageous.

Filing IRS returns jointly or separately? The AT explains the conditions and limits.

The IRS delivery is approaching and the Tax Authority (AT) provides a guide that clarifies the conditions and limits of deductions to income, whether for joint or separate filing.

To identify the most advantageous option, it is advisable to simulate both at the time of submission. Also, consulting this information brochure can help better understand the differences. The guide is available here (from page 5).

In the Finance Portal, the Tax Authority clarifies that, "for the 2024 IRS, the expenses relevant for deduction from the tax collection are mostly communicated to the Tax Authority through the e-invoice system, the electronic rental receipt, or by electronic data transmission with Social Security, or the submission of statements presented by third parties in compliance with ancillary obligations, namely, statements models 37, 44, 45, 46 and 47 as well as the DMR". "Knowing these expenses, it is generally up to the Tax Authority to quantify their amounts, by taxpayer NIF, and disclose them in the Finance Portal, by group of deductible expenses and with the applicable legal limits, which will be taken into account in the settlement of IRS of the taxpayers, taking into account also the composition of the household and the applicable taxation regimes", it reads.

By entering your personal page on the Finance Portal, you can find the expenses that have been reported to the Tax Authority within the legal deadlines, and of which you are the owner of the taxpayer identification number, as well as the respective percentages and legal limits considered individually.

"The composition of the household or the tax regime, separate or joint, is not taken into account in the case of married or de facto union taxpayers, since these will only be known when submitting the IRS Model 3 return or in the case of Automatic IRS. For the same reason, general limits for deduction from the taxable amount cannot be considered, or possible increases in applicable limits, namely based on the taxable income or the number of dependents in the household", the AT also explains.

Read also: A guide to better understand IRS

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