Oklahoma Filing Status Change (from MFJ to MFS)

In most cases, your Oklahoma filing status must match the filing status used on your federal return. However, Oklahoma provides a special exception for certain married couples when one spouse is a full-year Oklahoma resident and the other spouse is a full-year nonresident civilian (non-military). 

Under this exception, you may choose to:

• File your Oklahoma return as Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) to match the federal return, or
• File as Married Filing Separately (MFS) for Oklahoma purposes only. 

Who Can Change From MFJ to MFS for Oklahoma?

You may elect Oklahoma MFS filing status when:

• You filed a joint federal return, and
• One spouse was a full-year Oklahoma resident, and
• The other spouse was a full-year nonresident civilian. 

If you choose Oklahoma MFS treatment:

The Oklahoma resident files Form 511 using the Married Filing Separate filing status and reports only their income and deductions.

If the nonresident spouse has an Oklahoma filing requirement, they file Form 511-NR using the Married Filing Separate filing status and report only their Oklahoma-related income and deductions.

Form 574 Resident Nonresident Allocation must be included with the return(s).

When This Election Is Not Available

You cannot use this special filing status change when:

• The nonresident spouse is a military spouse subject to Oklahoma's military filing rules, or
• Either spouse is a part-year resident. 

In those situations, Oklahoma generally requires the filing status used on the federal return. 

How To Change the Filing Status in the Program

1. State
2. Oklahoma
3. Basic Information
4. Change Filing Status from MFJ to MFS for State Purposes Only

Steps

1. Answer Yes to the question asking whether you want to change the filing status from MFJ to MFS for Oklahoma purposes.
2. Select Married Filing Separately for State Purposes Only.
3. Indicate whether the separate Oklahoma return is for:
   • The taxpayer, or
   • The spouse.
4. Complete the remainder of the Oklahoma return interview.

Important E-file Limitation

If you change the Oklahoma filing status from MFJ to MFS for state purposes only, the Oklahoma return cannot be electronically filed.

The return must be:

• Printed,
• Signed, and
•  Mailed to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Example

Tom and Susan filed a joint federal return.

• Tom was a full-year Oklahoma resident.
• Susan was a full-year Georgia resident and never lived in Oklahoma during the year.
• Susan has no Oklahoma filing requirement.

They may choose to:

• File Oklahoma jointly and report all income, or
• Have Tom file an Oklahoma MFS resident return reporting only his income. 

If Susan had Oklahoma-source income that created a filing requirement, she would file a separate Oklahoma nonresident return on Form 511-NR. 

Additional Information

The Oklahoma instructions explain this filing-status election in the filing status sections of both the resident and nonresident tax packets.

Oklahoma Resident Instructions discusses resident taxpayers filing jointly with a full-year nonresident civilian spouse and the available filing options.

Oklahoma Nonresident Instructions provides the corresponding rules for nonresident spouses and separate filing requirements.

Tip: Before choosing Oklahoma MFS treatment, compare both options. In some situations, filing jointly may produce a lower Oklahoma tax liability, while in others, filing separately may reduce the amount of nonresident income subject to Oklahoma calculations.