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Thread: Taxes - Married or Single

  1. #1
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Taxes - Married or Single

    I got married on Nov 30th.

    I have a 1099 for $3000 and my daughter that can be claimed.

    My husband made $120,000 and has always filed single.

    Should we file married-jointly (can we since we got married at the end of the year?) or file seperately?

  2. #2
    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    What about your dancing income? That should be factored in. At $123K, you are still within the 25% tax bracket (or 28%), so married filing jointly with a dependant will help him out. If you only had $3K of income, with dependant, you'll get EIC, and they may send you extra money back.

    I don't know anything about Cali state tax though, FTR. Has he withheld enough from his paychecks for last year?

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

  3. #3
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    He is down as 1 on state and fed.

    Last year he made the same amount, filed single and received $3200 from Fed and $300 from the State.

    I dont have any dance income from last year.

    And thats what Im wondering - will he save more than Id get from EIC by him claiming both of us. I mean, with $3000 Id have to pay like 40% on that so Im not going to get much back via EIC because my income was so low.

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Yes, he will get more back. Your $3k will not push you into a higher bracket. That occurs at $138K or so (check IRS tables for 07).

    The best thing to do is create an estimate using an online tax calculator. I really like www.dinkytown.com They have many really cool tools.

    If you had to pay 40% on that 3K, you would now pay around 30-32%. Again, I don't know Cali state tax.

    BTW, your husband is withholding too much from his paycheck. If he makes the same amount every year and can predict his annualized income, he should be getting MORE each paycheck, and signicantly less as a deduction. Unless you are earning business income that is not taxed, or you are selling investments at significant gains, your tax return should be less than $1,000. At least that's the financial planning perspective. Earn more now so you can save it. However, most of us (myself included) have a tendency to blow it, lol!

    He should adjust his W4 to 3 or so. Do you guys have a mortgage? Also, are you able to itemize your deductions so you can get sales tax or state tax credits?

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

  5. #5
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    No mortgage. State tax im not too worried about because its such a small amount. Federal is another story. ok, so, i made probably 15k dancing the little bit i did last year. I wasnt going to claim it but it seems i should to push us into the next tax bracket. i didnt keep track of it or my expenses - nothing...

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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    in general, total tax liability should be significantly lower for two people who file as 'married filing jointly' as long as the taxable income of one person is significantly higher than the taxable income of the other person. It is only when the taxable incomes of both people are close to being equal that the tax advantage disappears a.k.a. the 'marriage tax penalty'.

    If you're going to spring for TurboTax or another tax calculation program, it's easy enough to test out all of the possible filing status combinations to see which one results in the largest refund !

  7. #7
    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Quote Originally Posted by AudreyLeigh View Post
    ok, so, i made probably 15k dancing the little bit i did last year. I wasnt going to claim it but it seems i should to push us into the next tax bracket. i didnt keep track of it or my expenses - nothing...
    Why would you want to push yourself into the next tax bracket? That will cause you to pay MORE tax, not less. Claim the income because if the IRS audits you, both you and your husband can be liable for back taxes on the amount. Is it likely? Probably not, but its far more likely to happen to self-employed persons, even if part of a household.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

  8. #8
    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Ok, I'm a total loser, but I love doing taxes. I did some basic stuff for you Audrey. FTR, I am not a tax advisor and this is NOT tax advice. I did this all on www.dinkytown.com

    I did not assume that you deducted anything from your $3K in business income. Technically, you can probably deduct all of that, plus more, as (Loss) from Business. But you would have had to have tracked it. Can you go back through bank statements and backtrack? I do it every year to make sure I didn't forget anything, or if I threw away some receipts.

    You can deduct $40 of your FICA from your 1099 income.

    I am also assuming some pre-tax health benefits from your husband's paycheck. So, I estimated 118K for his Wages.

    I don't know if you or him have student loan interest to deduct.

    Federal tax refund ~$1,490. State tax refund ~$2,463

    Is child support a deduction? I'm not sure about that. So, my grand total estimate for you both: $3,953. That isn't much more, but tax rates do change from year to year.

    As you see here, I am missing some pieces and making a few incorrect assumptions. Either way, use a TaxAct or some other program to do it using your actual figures.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

  9. #9
    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Quote Originally Posted by Pan Dah View Post
    Not unless I made some dumb error on the second page of the IRS' Eligibility Determination page.
    http://apps.irs.gov/app/eitc2007/
    As soon as I ticked "Married, filing separately", it said filing with that status makes you ineligible for EIC.
    Yes, this is true. I am discussing filing as Married, jointly. There are no advantages for them to file MFS.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

  10. #10
    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Quote Originally Posted by Pan Dah View Post
    Then there would be no EIC based on the joint income of $120K+.
    Obviously.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

  11. #11
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Child support paid this year = $24,800

    ^^ Whats the point in getting a job when you get THAT much tax free?!?!?!

    That make a difference?! Its taken out of his net before we even see the check.



    What pisses me off is the courts just gave her max support and full custody so even tho she doesnt work and he paid ALL their expenses HER MOM (babys mamas mama) gets to claim the baby. Is that even legal?! considering she doesnt pay any of the babys expenses. Theres no way that babys expenses are more than $25k a year. Curious.... Im evil. I would love to find a way to screw these two... greedy bitches.

  12. #12
    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Does the divorce decree or any court order state that she gets to deduct the child?

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Actually, whoever LIVES with the child gets the deduction...whether or not they actually pay for the child's care. If the child lives with each parent an equal number days a year, I believe that they both get to deduct for the times the child lives with them (meaning that the child must reside with each parent for at least 6 months out of the year to do this. If the child lives with one parent for 7 months and the other for 5 months...then the parent who is caring for the child for 7 months gets the full deduction as they provided for more than 50% of the child's care). At least, this is how I understand the code...I could be wrong.

    I believe that the only thing that would change this is if the divorce decree said that he has to pay child support of x dollars, but he gets the write-off for child support, not her.

    But, you really should consult the lawyer for that. If the above is indeed the case, then the LAWYER should write the letter to the baby mama telling her that she is not to file taxes claiming the exemption of the child as it is legally her ex's right to do so. And doing so will blah, blah, blah.

    But I had a friend who shared custody with the dad and they took turns claiming their child. One parent did it one year, the other the next year...so on. But, it was amicable with them...so that made a big difference.

  14. #14
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    ^^ Nah, I think youre right. Its whoever has the child in their care (which i think is bs)

    No divorce - 2 week fling and now $25,000 worth of support a year. Shes a tricky one!

    Is there any write offs for that? Or would it bring us into a lower tax bracket since we never saw the money?

    We have an appointment with an accountant March 8th, Im just curious...

  15. #15
    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Taxes - Married or Single

    Quote Originally Posted by AudreyLeigh View Post
    Is there any write offs for that? Or would it bring us into a lower tax bracket since we never saw the money?

    We have an appointment with an accountant March 8th, Im just curious...
    There's a write-off for dependant care. But if he can't claim her as a dependant, he doesn't get it. And there is very little you can do to get into a lower tax bracket. You're going to be at 25% federal, because you are right in the middle. Tax brackets are progressive anyway.

    That really sucks about the child support, and I don't know what to do about that.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

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