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tax questions - marriage penalty?
NovemberSue Posted: Oct 29, 2002 05:00 PM+
NovemberSue MEMBER SINCE: 5/02 TOTAL POSTS : 9878 WEDDING DATE: Nov 08, 2002
Posted: Oct 29, 2002 05:00 PM bride-minus.png

Re: tax questions - marriage penalty?

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karen32 Posted: Oct 29, 2002 05:32 PM+
karen32 MEMBER SINCE: 8/02 TOTAL POSTS : 4562 WEDDING DATE: Oct 25, 2003
Posted: Oct 29, 2002 05:32 PM bride-minus.png

Re: tax questions - marriage penalty?

99.9% of the time you should always file Married Filing Jointly. The only time when Married Filing Separately is beneficial is when one spouse makes significantly less (I'm talking 1/5 or 1/6 of the other spouse). Under those circumstances, sometimes it's better to file separately and allocate all your itemized deductions to the wage-earner spouse. Since the lower earning spouse is already in the lower tax bracket, you may be able to bring the wage-earner spouse into a lower tax bracket by giving him/her all the deductions. It's very rare that it works out better this way.

The best thing to do is to spend $20 and get Turbo Tax. It's by far the best product out there. It asks a million little questions that most people (incl. accountants) don't think to ask. I use it for my clients I do outside of Deloitte. If you watch the Staples/Office Max circular, you can sometimes get the software even cheaper after rebates. I think it's $20 for the federal and $40 for NYS. (TIP: Buy one copy and split the cost with friends - for some reason Turbo Tax allows you to download it a gazillion times).

Good Luck!!
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LisaT Posted: Oct 29, 2002 05:37 PM+
LisaT MEMBER SINCE: 7/01 TOTAL POSTS : 5894 WEDDING DATE: Apr 27, 2002
Posted: Oct 29, 2002 05:37 PM bride-minus.png

Re: tax questions - marriage penalty?

Karen- this is great info! How do I defer income to next year? Since its rightfully income I would've earned next year anyway...
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karen32 Posted: Oct 29, 2002 07:49 PM+
karen32 MEMBER SINCE: 8/02 TOTAL POSTS : 4562 WEDDING DATE: Oct 25, 2003
Posted: Oct 29, 2002 07:49 PM bride-minus.png

Re: tax questions - marriage penalty?

Hi Lisa -

Deferring income is a little tricky. If you're a 'regular' employee who gets a W-2, there's not much you can do. What is on your W-2 is what gets reported. Sometimes its possible to have an employer defer a year-end bonus until after January 1 - but usually the company wants the liability off their books by year-end, so that's not too common.

If you're self-employed, you have a little more leeway in reporting your income. Essentially, you report income in the year that it's earned. If you're an outside consultant, for example, and somebody pays you in late-December for work to be done in 2003, you can defer that income until 2003.

***** One more super-important thing that just came to mind - make sure you file your tax return under the EXACT SAME NAME as your social security number. If you don't change your social security card to reflect your married name, make sure your tax return shows your maiden name - Jane Doe & John Smith, not Jane & John Smith. The IRS shares the same database as the Social Security department and will bounce back your return if the names don't match. Not a huge deal, but still a hassle (my grandmother got remarried so I filed her return Mr. & Mrs. Kusy - well, Grandma didn't change her name with SS, so her return got bounced back, too funny - 85 yr old being audited)

Another long post - sorry ladies!!!

Keep the questions coming!!
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teresa518 Posted: Oct 30, 2002 09:53 AM+
teresa518 MEMBER SINCE: 4/01 TOTAL POSTS : 246 WEDDING DATE: Jun 04, 2000
Posted: Oct 30, 2002 09:53 AM bride-minus.png

Re: tax questions - marriage penalty?

Karen,

Thanks for all the good info. I'm a CPA and could've answered some of these but you've been a real help. I guess I wouldn't call myself an expert since I still get my taxes done by someone else!!!

Keep the good info coming. I know lots of people have questions about taxes - especially after first getting married.

FYI - We also get killed by the Marriage Penalty.
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hannadavis Posted: Feb 20, 2013 12:56 AM+
hannadavis MEMBER SINCE: 2/13 TOTAL POSTS : 2 WEDDING DATE: Apr 25, 2013
Posted: Feb 20, 2013 12:56 AM bride-minus.png

Re: tax questions - marriage penalty?

Marriage penalty can be confusing but what I know is that when you are married you pay more than what you pay when you are single. Higher taxes required from some married couples, where spouses are making approximately the same taxable income, filing one tax return than for the same two people filing two separate tax returns if they were unmarried. The percentage of tax has varied depending on shifts in tax rates. It could take money so “You can APPLY NOW for installment loans for bad credit installment loan to pay for your taxes this year, especially if you just got married.
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Gin-Char 104 Posted: Mar 11, 2013 06:47 AM+
Gin-Char 104 MEMBER SINCE: 8/05 TOTAL POSTS : 1674 WEDDING DATE: Aug 05, 2012
Posted: Mar 11, 2013 06:47 AM bride-minus.png

tax questions - marriage penalty?

This information has been so helpful! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
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