My wife doesn't work, I'm the only one that does. Should I file single or as married on my taxes?

Answer 1

There are two things, your W-4 that you fill out with your employer, and the 1040 form you fill out when doing your taxes.

1040

If you were married on December 31st of the year in question, you can NOT file as single. If you lived with your spouse at any time during the last 6 months of the year, you can NOT file as Head of Household either. In that case, your only choices are Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or Married Filing Separately (MFS).

Rarely is MFS better than MFJ, and since your wife doesn't work, I seriously doubt MFS will be better, so please, file as Married Filing Jointly. MFJ works regardless who earned income. You get the better tax tables, you get an exemption for your wife (don't list her as a dependent), and you get all the credits that anyone else gets, but better.

W-4

What you put on your W-4 does not need to coincide with what you put on your 1040. It does affect the amount of taxes withheld on your behalf and send to the IRS all year. A great thing to do is get a hold of a W-4 form (on www.irs.gov or at your human resources department) and do the little worksheet to determine what you need to put on it. In general, if you work and your wife doesn't and you don't have kids or other dependents, you will select Married with 2 withholding allowances. Some people mistakenly call withholding allowances "exemptions" or "dependents".

Congrats on your marriage!

Answer 2

You would have to file as married, or married filing separate. If you file as MFS you lose 1/2 of your standard deduction, and you cannot claim your wife as an exemption (she is never your dependent) You also cannot claim Earned Income Credit for your children if you qualify.

I think the question you are asking is geared more towards filling out your filing status on a work form or a W4. And that all depends on when you want to see YOUR money. If you claim your wife throughout the year, you will have a bigger pay check because there will be fewer taxes withheld. If you claim no dependents, you will have a larger return check at tax time, assuming you qualify for a return.

Answer 3

Married

Answer 4

Your tax return does not ask who is working. It asks your marital status on December 31 of the filing year. If you are married on that day and have lived together for any part of the last 6 months of the year, you are married for tax purposes. FYI--this is much more beneficial to you as you get the benefit of the married standard deduction which is double the single and also you will get 2 exemptions instead of 2. This doubles the amount of income on which you do NOT pay tax.

Answer 5

You probably get a bigger tax break by filing married. It'll consider your income alone in calcuating a household income number which usually works out better when filing married. If you make a lot of money (over 6 figures), it might be better to file separately. Talk to an accountant, it also depends on what tax bracket you fall into and if youre on the line between brackets.

Answer 6

Careful!! Your wife may not be employed outside the home but most wives work like dogs to keep a house a home. Never sell them short. As for your question; your filing status most beneficial would be married, filing joint; whereinwith you claim your wife's dependency of $ 3,250.00 in 2006.

Answer 7

File married jointly. And She does not count as a dependent. She is consider spouse. (Surprise more people giving bad advice ). You get an exemption for her like a dependent but she is not a dependent.

File married better tax bracket

Answer 8

you have to file married at the end of the year, you'll acutally get a credit for her not working :-) Durring the year if you file single, they take more taxes out - less to pay in a the end, or a bigger refund

Answer 9

Married because you are married. You working has nothing to do with anything.

Answer 10

you would still file as married..