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Mike Thrift

Marketing Manager

Married and Running the Business Together? How the Qualified Joint Venture Election Splits Your Tax Filing in Two

A married couple co-owning an unincorporated business is taxed as a partnership by default, but the qualified joint venture election lets each spouse file a separate Schedule C and Schedule SE instead — no Form 1065, and both spouses earn Social Security credits. Both spouses must materially participate, and businesses held in an LLC or corporation cannot use it.