May I ask why you've decided to file separately? Filing jointly is usually easier and results in less tax.
Questions:
Is this right??
Entering half on each return sounds generally right. I presume you've read
Publication 555?
On the 1040, do I enter 50% of SS income/tax and Medicare Income/Tax, or just boxes 1 and 2?
The Box 1 wages line will generally translate to Line 1 of your 1040, and the Box 2 tax withholding will generally go on Line 25a of your 1040.
The social security/Medicare tax from your W-2s will come into play when calculating your self-employment tax, and also if you had excess social security withholding (will sometimes happen if you had two jobs and earned more than the social security maximum between the two, but you're below that limit). Other than that these numbers are unlikely to be relevant when preparing your tax return.
Note that the self-employment tax is
not split evenly between your two returns. The self-employment income will be split, so you'll each file a Schedule C for half the amount. When it comes to Schedule SE, if you were the only one doing the self-employment work, you'll report the entire amount on your own Schedule SE. See the
instructions for Schedule SE for more info about this.
What about boxes 12-14?
There's a ton of stuff that can go in these boxes. Which ones apply to you specifically?
State income doesn't apply?
Maybe if you're itemizing deductions, and of course you'll need this for your state return.
How does the child tax credit come into play?
Only one of you can claim your child as a dependent. I believe that person gets the full child tax credit, but I'm not 100% confident on this point.
I understand I need to fill out Form 8958. Do I put 50/50 for everything?
Generally yes. If you had some income from separate property (property that predates your marriage or that you inherit while married often counts as separate property, but check your state laws), you wouldn't split those.
