First let me give some background information. My boyfriend and I have been on-again - off-again for years. We do have 2 children together and he does currently live with me, but his name is not on the lease, we do not share bank accounts and do not name each other as beneficiaries on life insurance. In no way do we present ourselves as husband and wife - so imagine my surprise when a local tax preparer insisted we had to file our taxes together on a joint return. I tried to argue with her, but I don't do taxes, and she's supposed to be the expert, so she filed them together. After talking with my family and friends and really thinking about the situation - I just don't think she was right. Surely the IRS does not require couples to file joint returns now.....do they? My real question is how hard is it to file an amended return for each of us? Should we do it right away? I contacted the original tax preparer and she said it will take 5 or 6 weeks to take care of it. Is that really accurate or is she just being a pain. I am desperate for any assistance I can get!

Yes, I do suggest that you immediately file an amended tax return before the IRS discovers the error and assesses interest and possible penalties. Usually, an amended tax return does take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to process, but if you owe additional taxes these checks would be immediately cashed by the IRS.

I suggest that you do not worry about the time to process the amended tax return, rather you should take the initiative to file the amended tax return as soon as possible.

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