File Filing

Question: Is it okay to file married filing jointly if only one spouse work during the tax year? Is it okay to file married filing jointly if only one spouse work during the tax year?

Answer: Yes, but only if you really are married and both spouses agree to file jointly.

Question: Is it better to file taxes married filing jointly or married separately for Pell Grant Purposes? Will i get more grant money if i file married filing jointly, or married filing separately for a bachelors in nursing? Either way we both made very little income. (Not sure if it matters what I'm going to school for) PLEASE HELP! By the way,we just seperated and are in different states and i can not get in contact with her so i have no way to figure out her income. Divorce papers havent been filed either.

Answer: I agree with Fiona, If your tax forms say "married filing jointly" then that is what you will have to put on your FAFSA application. Otherwise, if you put "separated" and they ask for your tax form, they are going to question why it does not match. The best thing you can do is contact your financial aid office and explain the issue. Because of your circumstances, they might be able to override the issue since you can't get in contact with your wife.They will know best how to help you. If they do an override you will only have to put your income on the form. Not only will this be easier for you but you will probably be eligible for more grants because you are not including your wife's income. I hope I was helpful and I am sorry about your separation.

Question: Is it ok if i file married filing seperately with one child each ? I recently filed married filing separately claiming one child from previous marriage. My husband is going to file with the child from our marriage. Is that best option to getting a $$ refund ?

Answer: It's O.K. to do it that way, but there are so many disadvantages to filing seperately. Especially if you have dependents. You don't qualify for quite a few different credits and the deductions are much less. Nameley the credit for child and dependent care expenses, Earned Income Credit, Education Credit. You CAN get the Child tax credit, but it is at a reduce income level (1/2 of those for a joint return). If you're filing seperate because you expect to lose the refund, better to pay more on what you owe than get a check for a fraction of that since you'll have to pay it otherwise. Sorry if you already know that, I just hate to see anyone give away money.

Question: We file married filing separately. Does it matter who claims the mortgage interest? I'm on an installment agreement for back taxes, so we file married filing separately. We are both on the home loan but I am the primary and he is the co-borrower. Both of our names are listed on Form 1098, but it shows my name first and my social security number. Does it matter who claims the mortgage interest?

Answer: Generally MFS is NOT a smart way to file. Have you considered MFJ with injured spouse allocation? If you file MFS and one of you itemizes, then the other MUST also itemize. So better to split the house between you, although that may mean neither of you has enough to itemize. Good that you're paying off the IRS, but you created yourself a mess until you do so.

Question: Tax Filing Status - how do you file if you have been separated but the divorce is not yet final? We were not living together or involved financially - do I file Married Filing Separately or Single?

Answer: This depends on the laws in your state, so check with your lawyer. If you're considered by your state law to be legally separated under a decree of separate maintenance, then you can file as single. If not, and you're just in the process of a divorce, then you'd file jointly or as married filing separately. There is an exception. If your spouse didn't live in your home at any time during the second half of the year, you paid more than half of the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year, and your home was the main home of your child for the year and you're able to claim the exemption for the child, then you can file as head of household.

Question: my wife and I file zero on our taxes and we have two kids. Should we be filing something other than zero? My wife and I claim zero on our taxes and we have two kids. Should we be claiming something other than zero? When we file our taxes we file married filing jointly. Usually before we get to mortgage interest, daycare costs, and other deductables we are owing a ton. Can we file married filing separate or should we be claiming something other than zero?

Answer: You should claim your dependants, this will help you either cut down (by qualifying for eitc or ctc) what you owe or maybe put some money back in your pockets. Don't forget to claim the deductions, this helps your form not owing also. Yes, I do know people who file separate because the other spouse owes on his or her taxes. Best bet is to ask a tax consultant before you file.

Question: If I file married filing jointly how much do I need to make to claim income on our taxes? I did a few small jobs for friends with small businesses in 2008. I made approximately $500.00 or less total for the year. I am filing as married filing jointly with my husband and want to know if I need to claim this amount as income. I have not received anything from my friends documenting the income as of yet. Do they need to give me something?

Answer: Yes, you must report this income. This is self employed income. You must file tax return if this income is $400 or more. You will report your income and expenses on schedule C or C-EZ (Form 1040). This income is subject to SE tax at 15.3%. Read: http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/04/tax-filing-by-self-employed-sole.html

Question: Is it better to file married filing separately in this case? This is the first year my husband and I will make over $180K combined. He is employed and has taxes withheld. I am self employed and itemize and pay quarterly taxes. We almost always owe something. I think if you make over $150K it throws you into a new tax bracket, correct? Would we avoid that if filing separately?

Answer: You should figure your tax both ways to see which is best. Usually joint is best. You can use the free IRS self-calculating forms at pdftax.com to compare. Good luck. TaxRef pdftax.com

Question: Should I file a joint return or married filing seperate if my husband owes back child support? Last year we filed a joint return with an injured spouse form and it took until September to get my refund back! Would it be quicker to just file married filing separate and lose out on a little money? Or would they try to take my return to apply it toward my husbands debt?

Answer: The IRS has a formula they use to intercept tax money. The formula consists of how much your husband earned and how much you earned. They divide your income out and figure out how much was actually contributed by Your husband and then they take his portion. I know it takes a long time to get Your tax refund back but Your best bet would be to file injured spouse. Or is you want to loose out on money and be penalized them file separately. If you husband was current on his support this wouldn't be an issue....

Question: Will my husband and I still qualify for the homeowner tax credit if we file married filing separate? We purchased our home on 11/6/09 for under 200k and we do not make over 95k. Will we still qualify for the homeowners 8k tax credit if we file married/Separate or would we have to file a joint return to qualify?

Answer: If you both qualify for the credit, you can claim $4000 on your MFS return, he can claim $4000 on his MFS return.

Question: I'm legally separated. Can I still file taxes as married filing jointly? I'm seeing conflicting information as to whether I can still file Married Filing Jointly when we're legally separated. We no longer live with each other, and we were legally separated as of Oct. 2006. So, we're not divorced yet. Can I still file married filing jointly or not? I'm trying to find the best way to do it because I had 3 exemptions on my W-4 last year not having changed it when I filed for separation. So, I'm owing $2000 in taxes if I choose married filing separately or single. Please say i can file married filing jointly. We have no kids. I promise to change my W-4 exemptions immediately, too. LOL Any suggestions that will hurt me the least on taxes please.

Answer: Yes you can still file jointly,

Question: Could i get less in my tax returns if i file married filing separate? I recently married and he hasn't filed a tax return in 12 years. Would I get penalized? Will they charge me money that he owes? Can I file single? We both see it as his money and debt is his and mine is mine. I know the saying is once you marry, the debt is shared.Or something like that.

Answer: Yes, you can and most likely will get less on your tax returns if you file Married Filing Separately. A lot of credits are not allowed if you file Separate returns. If you are legally married, living together and have no current pending divorce papers, then you have to file either Married Filing Joint or Married Filing Separate. But there are other options. You can get information from the IRS or employers and file those back tax returns. (However anything from before 2004 they may not pay a refund or ask for the balance due). (The IRS may at some point ask for these. I have seen requests for multiple years of tax returns to be completed and sent in to the IRS). You can file a Married Filing Joint tax return, but just in case (And if you meet all the rules) file a Form 8379, Injured Spouse form, that would break down the whole tax return to show what income, expenses, credit belong to you and your husband. That way they could, if properly calculated and all rules apply, keep just his part of any refund. Injured Spouse form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8379.pdf Injured Spouse Information starts on page 3: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p504.pdf Shannon C

Question: could I file married filing separately and claim my daughter even if I just separated from my husband? He wants to file together but I don,t. Could that be a problem?

Answer: you make a lot less filing separate like that. it would depend who took care of her the majority of the year financially. also depends if you have anything to file. if you made money or not. file together. you both will have to sign the check. split it. be smart not childish

Question: why do I get more money back if I file married filing seperately? but if I file married jointly I get less money back. I also have 1 dependent. So would you suggest just file married joint?

Answer: right, you should be claiming single with 0 dependents in order to get the maximum back. In other words, you don't take any breaks during the year, you pay the maximum amount in taxes, then you get more back for a refund.

Question: Is it legal to file married filing separately and does one have to file head of household and claim the kids? We are married, have 2 children. It appears we might get more back if we file separately (we do not itemize). I heard that if we do file this way, one has to claim to be head of household and to do that we should have been separated for at least six months of the year. We were not separated. Thanks

Answer: You need not be separated in order to file as married filing separately. If you are married and living together, neither of you may file as head of household. It appears from what you have offered that your two (and only two) choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately. Although it is rare for a married couple to benefit by filing separately, it does happen on occasion. If this turns out to be the case for you, by all means file as married filing separately.

Question: Will my taxes be taken for my husbands back child support if I file married filing separately? My husband and I were married in August of 08. How do I file to make sure I get my tax refund? He owes about 6000 dollars in support, but he is making payments. His taxes are taken every year, how can I be sure mine will not be? We live in California, his child support is based out of New Jersey.

Answer: okay having been in this exact situation I recommend having your taxes done by the same person whether it is at say H&R block or account you can filing marriaged but filing seperately and there is an injured spouse form which means they owed money before you were married or seperately from you and you will still get your money back. good luck

Question: Should I file married filing jointly or seperately? My husband is getting out of the military and receiving a severance of $117,000.00. On top of his regular salary for 2006 this will put us over $200,000.00. I also work and make $30,000.00/year. We have two children ages 4 months and 4 years old. I am trying to find out if it would be more beneficial for us if we were to file married jointly or seperately? IF we filed seperately would I be able to use the children as deductions on my return?

Answer: Married filing separate is usually NOT a desireable option for anyone - especially in your case. First of all, your husband makes WAY more money than you! In this case, we usually recommend that you file joint. Also with kids, you would not qualify for most of the child credits by filing separately. You have also not given us enough information as to whether one or the other of you will itemize. If you file separately, either you both must itemize, or one of you will have to forego the standard deduction - which would be $5000 with this filing status. Bad call. Or you would both have to take the standard deduction. You are also not talking about bank accounts, property, etc..etc....Let's say this $117,000 he's getting is his ENTIRE income for the year - if you decided that you would both just take the standard deduction: by filing separately - assuming there is no other income from interest, etc..etc...you husband's tax (based on 2005) would be $26200 and your tax would be $1945 which means a total of $28145 in taxes for your household. This takes into consideration that YOU would be the one claiming the kids. However, if you file JOINT, your tax would be $24508. That's a difference in $3637! That is BEFORE applying child related tax credits. So that number could be much greater. It would certainly be much greater if this $117,000 severance does NOT reflect his total income for the year! Also, don't forget, this is based on 2005 and only on the information you have given. I think you can see that married filing joint is probably the best option for you.

Question: Can I file married filing joint? My husband and I got a divorce, but got back together. Can we still file married filing joint?

Answer: only if you got remarried before dec.31,2007

Question: Will I get a rebate check if I file married filing seperate? My husband and I filed seperate, he is getting a refund and I owe 327.00 will we get any rebate checks?

Answer: For the purposes of the rebate, married filing seperate is treated as single. You must each qualify for the rebate based on your own 2007 earnings and Federal Income Tax liability. You would be eligible to receive a rebate of up to $600 if you paid that much in Federal Income Tax. If you only paid $350 in taxes (less than the $600 rebate limit), you only get back $350. If you had earned income of at least $3000, you would get at least the minimum rebate of $300. Use the Kiplinger rebate tax calculator (link below) to compute your rebate.

Question: When I file my taxes, can I file married filing separately? Last year, my husband and I filed injured spouse because he owes for student loans and he owed child support. So he didn't get a refund, but I did. It took over three months to get our return back. I don't know too much about income taxes. A co-worker said we should do married filing separately. I just don't know the difference between injured spouse and married filing separately.

Answer: Injured spouse means you are asking the IRS not to keep any of your refund to pay down your husband's past debts. If they allow it, they will keep your husband's portion of the refund and give you yours. Married filing separately means that you have chosen to keep your tax situtation completely separate from your husband's. You would not have to ask for injured spouse status and the IRS could not keep any of your refund. However, you will pay a higher tax as married filing separate and certain credits are completely eliminated, such as the child tax credit (if you have children that's a valuable credit), and the earned income credit, etc. Lastly, when you file married filing separate, if one spouse itemizes, the other spouse also has to itemize even if he/she has no itemizeable deductions. This means losing the standard deduction of $5,150. Not a good thing. Generally, it is much much better to file married filing joint than married filing separate. I did a tax return the other day where if the person had filed MFS they would have owed almost $1k. Filing MFJ, they got refunded several thousand. Any competent tax preparer should be able to give you an estimate for each filing status. Remember also to check how your husband will make out each way. Good luck.