Can a couple married on December 30th file married joint if one is being claimed as a dependent

You can file a joint return if you want to. If you do so, her parents will not be able to claim her as a dependent unless the only reason you are filing a joint return is to get back all your withholding because you don't owe any tax.

If you want to allow her parents to claim her, then you must each file married filing separately.

Dennis

Both She and I will be receiving refunds on federal. When I file my state separate I show a refund, but together we show owing a $43 penalty. Is it possible to file federal joint and then each file our own state ? Hers is in a different state than mine. Thank you for the help. Next year this won't be an issue, but right now this is slightly confusing.

Actually it's a bit stricter than than. A person filing a joint return can be claimed as a dependent if and only if the proposed dependent and the spouse would get all their money back whether filing married-separate or jointly. If filing a joint return results in a bigger refund (from EIC or refundable child credit, as examples) then a joint return destroys the dependency exemption for anyone else.

Are the parents certain that they will get a benefit from claiming the daughter as a dependent?

They aren't sure yet. They have a CPA doing their taxes, and they have income from 4 states. It is taking them awhile to get back to me. I'm not sure why our federal refund gets larger when filing joint. It just happens when I try turbotax online. She only made 2k last year. Joint we made just under 40k, so I tried running it through the various freefile services to see what happened. Perhaps it is because she gets all of her taxable income back and deserves more ? Either way she doesn't get the personal deduction because she is being claimed. We are both using our standard deductions as there is not much to itemize as newlyweds fresh out of school.

Note that the test is not whether you get a refund. It's whether you get a refund of ALL your withheld income tax. If either of you would get only a partial refund, her parents cannot claim her if you file a joint return.

What happens on your state returns doesn't affect the Federal dependency exemption issue.

That's going to depend on the states.

-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD

It depends on the states involved. Often states require the same filing status as federal, but there are exceptions. Katie in San Diego

All of my income was in IL . Hers was in MO.