Should i file jointly or single

If you're still unsure of which status makes the most sense for you, you should "consider getting expert tax advice from a CPA or Enrolled Agent," which is a federally-licensed tax practitioner, says Kaleb Paddock , a certified financial planner at Ten Talents Financial Planning. Like this story? Skip Navigation. Jennifer Liu. Filing joint typically provides married couples with the most tax breaks. Another reason to consider filing together is that joint filers are often eligible to receive meaningful savings in the form of tax credits, such as: The Earned Income Tax Credit EITC , which is designed to "benefit for working people with low to moderate income.

The American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Education Tax Credits , which reduces the amount of taxes owed by those who are attending college, or have a spouse or child with college or graduate school tuition costs.

Reimbursement or refund for adoption expenses when legally adopting a child. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit , which can help offset your child-care costs if you are working and must pay a caregiver to look after your child so long as they're younger than 13 or a disabled spouse.

VIDEO Nearly a third of millennials would end a relationship for a raise. Make It. Here are four situations where filing separately would be the better option: 1. Here's when couples should start having tough conversations about money.

Don't miss: Want a happy marriage? Filing only one return could save you time and money. Choosing one status over the other will result in different limits for tax brackets , deductions and credits. The clearest example of how your taxes will change after marriage is in the income tax brackets. The tables below show the tax brackets for the tax year what you file in In some cases, married couples will find themselves in a lower tax bracket now that they are combining incomes.

At the same time, married individuals who file separately will pay income taxes according to the same brackets as single filers. Outside of income taxes, filing a joint return will change limits for other deductions. In this case, the deduction is doubled for joint filers. One big change that comes with marriage is how you report withholding.

Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. Which is better for married couples--a joint or separate tax filing? It depends. Married Filing Jointly A joint return is a single return for a husband and wife that combines their incomes, exemptions, credits, and deductions. You are considered married for tax purposes for the entire year if, by December you are married and living together you are living together in a common law marriage recognized in the state where you live or in the state where the common law marriage began you are married and living apart, but not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, or you are separated under an interlocutory not final decree of divorce.

For purposes of filing a joint return, you are not considered divorced. Married Filing Separately If you're married, you always have the option to file your taxes separately. There are several disadvantages to filing separately that you need to be aware of, however, because these can easily outweigh any potential benefits: You cannot take various tax credits, such as the Hope or Lifetime Learning education credits, earned income tax credit, and, in most cases, the credit for child and dependent care expenses.

You cannot take the deduction for student loan interest, or the tuition and fees deduction. You cannot exclude from your income any interest income from qualified U. The following credits and deductions are reduced at income levels that are half of those for a joint return: child tax credit, retirement savings contributions credit and itemized deductions. You may not be able to deduct all or part of your contributions to a traditional IRA if you or your spouse was covered by an employee retirement plan at work during the year.

If you own and actively manage rental real estate, it will be more difficult for you to deduct any losses you incur. If your spouse itemizes deductions, you cannot claim the standard deduction. If you can claim the standard deduction, your basic standard deduction is half the amount allowed on a joint return.

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