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Because I got married and bought a house during the last part of the year. This is the first time we are filing together and it sucks. we have to pay almost $700 to NYS and the IRS. Why should we get penalized for getting married....It is just so not fair....
Just my 2 cents
Jenn:I
$700???? be lucky it's only that, we filed together and we owe close to $2,000! it's not fair! my three cents..
name - I was very surprised when the accountant told us that b/c of that we could still file as indivduals.
and... yes, I agee that is very, very unfair!!!!!
...that since we didn't change our names with the Social Security admin we can still file as individuals too!! Thank God and my accountant said what they do to married people is pretty unfair too. But it's suppose to get better next year, I think (?)...
Ayanna-Anubride
Be glad you don't have our taxes--we owe in the tens of thousands--and we've already paid more than tens of thousands! It is frightening---we have to come up with an amount equal to a down payment on a house!!!!!
We got married and bought a house last year. I haven't changed my name with the SS Admn yet (lazy). However, we still filed married jointly and already received our refund. NYS and Federal combined refund was $4,708. Check was made out to each of us in his and my maiden name. Why are some of you owing? Everyone kept telling that since we bought the house to expect a big refund due to mortgage interest. Are there any accountants among us?! If there are maybe we'll have to wait to hear from them until after the 15th! :-)
I`m self-employed which SUCKS!! when it comes to taxes. Anyway, it worked out better for us to file married/separately since my hubby got a refund and I owe. Basically, it`s a wash for us. I feel bad though since his refund is paying my taxes. Ah, married life!
:)
Did you file on your W-4 Single 0? My friend said that way more tax is taken out of your check than if you are listed as Married and you almost will never owe.
As it was explained to me...
We both listed ourselves as Married with 0 deductions at our work. This, in general, will withhold 15% of your income for Federal Taxes.
However, if your joint income (after 401k, medical, etc.) is more than $80,000, then you will be taxed in the 18% bracket. We don`t own a house and our other deductions (such as education, volunteering, etc.) do not qualify because we are over the $75,000 and $80,000 cut-offs.
So, basically, that is why we owe an additional 3% BEYOND what was already withheld (when we were counting on the max withheld being enough).
Yes, this was a big hit from our house savings...so ironic: this sets us back farther yet we`d better hurry so we don`t get slammed again next year.
And, in the mean time, we are adjusting our withholding to be 18% JUST IN CASE we don`t get a house.
Mama said there would be days like this :-(
Me neither. I'm in the same boat as you, Kate. Just married, new homeowners, filed jointly, and got a huge refund. It's not fair to the others! Why are we different? : (
If you`re legally married, you`re married in the eyes of all levels of government. Regardless of whether or not you changed your name.
It may be less likely that they`ll catch you given the scenario you presented...but its my understanding that once you are married you need to file as such.
You may want to double check that before you actually file. Better safe...
I posted my response with the impression that you filed single...not married separately.
If you filed married but separately, then disregard my post. :)
If you are married you cannot file your taxes as if you were single. You are either married filing jointly or married filing separately. If you did file already and you filed as a single person you should find out how to ammend your return and quickly. The IRS charges huge penalties and interest on taxes owed after April 15th. Even if someone else prepared your tax return for you, you are still responsible if you signed them.
We got a huge wammy from the tax man too..We owe $8,000! It all added up because we got married, my husband owed on unemployment wages, and because we cashed out stocks to help us with the down payment on the house. A word of advise to anyone thinking about cashing out stocks...do so carefully! Make sure you do it knowing what tax bracket you fall into and exactly how much your capital gain is...and save some of what you cashed out for your taxes! We knew we would owe...but we never dreamed it would be 8,000! Only good thing is that at least the hubby is working again...otherwise, I'm sure we would have lost the house and there is no way we could have paid the IRS!
They are very willing to work with you making regular payments. When I got hit several years ago because I was self employed and had not paid enough in my estimated payments, they let me choose a monthly amount I felt comfortable handling, and I faithfully paid that over the next couple of years, every month, until it was paid off. Call them and ask!
If you do owe the IRS money you are much better off taking out a personal loan to pay it off than working out an agreement with them. I cashed out my 401K in 2000 due to a family emergency and was hit with a huge penalty. I made an agreement to pay but so much was going toward interest and penalties that almost nothing went to the principal owed. I ended up taking a personal loan at a much lower interest rate and am paying that off rather than the IRS.
Hmmm... maybe my situation was different, but I seem to recall that I had a flat amount I owed, and when I spoke to them I just negotiated that I could handle $300 a month and I just paid that amount until it was paid down. There may have been some initial interest and penalties at the time I filed, but they did not continue to accrue. They seemed very willing to just have the payments made. I'd still try giving them a call...
Im not a newly wed but i just wanted to post the discrepency everyone is encountering.
Those falling in a lower tax bracket and paying tax on fewer income items will usually get a refund whether filing jointly or single.
Its only when both husband and wife income bring the total household income over a certain # of dollars per year when you are going to be sapped with a huge unexpected tax bill.
So you cant compare the return of a couple making $65K jointly with that of a couple making $150K jointly.
Thought that may help clear up some confusion.
PS: It is my understanding that the marriage 'penatly' (the lower dedecution allowed for 1 married couple vs. 2 single people) is being phased out. So hopefully there won't be this sort of thread here next time :)
...I think it`s like comparing apples to oranges. Unless everyone here wants to get together and disclose their assets and liabilities and compare them side-by-side to everyone elses, there are alot of different reasons that some may be getting refunds and some are having to pay. Not to mention that I`m sure everyone here has a different tax preparer. A financial planner can be really helpful going forward for anyone who is concerned with getting hit with penalties.
I was informed after we got married, that I could continue to keep the 'single' withholding status on my paychecks. This was correct, right?
Because I`ve had two jobs, I`ve needed to always have the maximum withheld, as well as have additional money taken out from each paycheck. The very first year I filed after working both jobs, I got slammed, because each job on its own had me being taxed for each individual income, but when the incomes were combined for tax filing purposes, it jumped me into a tax bracket double what I was taxed at in my paychecks. Since then, I`ve always had them take the additional funds, and after we were married, I did`t want to change it since I was told from both payroll offices I could keep the single status. I much prefer getting money back then owing. But now I`m worrying after reading all these other posts that maybe I did need to change my status, and everyone here at work has gone home for the day.
