im not sure which route i should take when filing my taxes, i made way less than 30,000 in 2006 im married have a 1 year old and owned a house all of 2006 and my wife only worked 1 month in 2006, should i file as head of householdif i can since my wife did work for a month? can i qualify for earned income credit? can i file head of household and get earned income credit? whats the difference and can we still file either one as a filing jointly? also if i decide to do the head of household (if you guys think thats the way to go) is that possible to do on an online tax service like taxslayer.com which lets you file for free if your military which i am, im just confused on wether i should do it online since its free or blow 100 bucks at a taxpreparer when i think i have a pretty straight forward tax filing. how do you guys think i should file and were? i really really appreciate your responses in advance.
2007-01-12 13:53:45 · 7 answers · asked by mite53 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
go on h and r block taxcut. i spent 10 bucks to efile (have my refund direct deposited into my account). the best for you i believe is married filing jointly you will get a larger standard deduction. the great thing about h and r block is they look and fix errros before you can file. ive done it for 3 years now and yes you can earn earned income credit if you file married filing jointly but if you are legally married you only have 2 choices married filing jointly and married filing separately. good luck... and i pray for you military guys all the time. awesome job dude.....
2007-01-12 14:00:07 · answer #1 · answered by starla 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
should i file as head of householdif i can since my wife did work for a month?
No, you can only LEGALLY file as Married filing seperately or Married Filing Jointly. Since your wife only worked one month, that means that the 10000 deduction works well in your advantage.
can i qualify for earned income credit?
Yes if you file Jointly.
No if you file seperately.
can i file head of household and get earned income credit?
You can not file as head of household. Even if you tried this manuver, it would not work in your advantage. (you would lose 2000 from the standard deduction)
whats the difference and can we still file either one as a filing jointly? The difference is that you can't do it- It's not legal unless you are seperated. One person can not file jointly. (hence the word Joint)
also if i decide to do the head of household (if you guys think thats the way to go) is that possible to do on an online tax service like taxslayer.com which lets you file for free if your military which i am, im just confused on wether i should do it online since its free or blow 100 bucks at a taxpreparer when i think i have a pretty straight forward tax filing. how do you guys think i should file and were?
I would let someone else prepare my return if I were you. Based on your questions, you don't know enough about taxes to be sure that you get everything that you are supposed to. You could lose out a lot more. Most places will take the prep fees out of your refund so that you don't have to pay out-of-pocket.
2007-01-12 14:12:35 · answer #2 · answered by Smart1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Head of household isn't an option for you since you are married and still living together. You will qualify for some Earned income credit due to your income. Your filing status options are married filing jointly or married filing seperately. If you choose married filing seperately, you disqualify yourself for any earned income credit. Married filing jointly is usually the most beneficial. If you don't want to foot the bill to let a tax professional do your return, go to either www.irs.gov or www.hrblock.com and file for free.
2007-01-12 14:12:55 · answer #3 · answered by Fool in the Rain 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you are married, you are not allowed to file as head of household. File jointly with your wife - that's the best rates anyway.
Depending on how much your wife made in the month she worked, you will very likely qualify for Earned Income Credit.
Don't spend money on a tax preparer. See if there's a VITA or TCE site in your area - check irs.gov for more info. They'll prepare your taxes at no charge. If you can't find one, something like TurboTax would probably work for you.
Feel free to email if you have any questions about your return or need help with it and can't find a VITA or TCE site.
2007-01-12 14:15:30 · answer #4 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Head of Household is not an option as you are married.
File Married-Filing Jointly.
2007-01-12 14:06:14 · answer #5 · answered by Wayne Z 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
since you provided over 50 percent of her cost of living you can file head of household and your son. You are automatically entitled to the eitc for your son because you made less than 30000 dollars. the tax credit this year is a maximum of 2747 dollars. You should get that back plus whatever you paid in taxes. Also if you filed last year you can efile this year and get your taxes in two weeks. hope this helps
2007-01-12 16:30:44 · answer #6 · answered by tigerlilliebuick 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since you have some new issues that happened in 2006 that could greatly affect your filing for the good (ie a house, a 1month working wife, made less than 30,000 for the yr., you're in the military, etc.), I would call the IRS for their imput. You MAY not have to file, since your income is so low. Good luck! For 24 hr. recorded tax info. call: 1.800.829.4477.
2007-01-12 14:06:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋