me and my husband are married by common law.. he is the only one working while i am going to school.. should he file single or joint on his tax return? which one would get us more money?
2007-01-17 18:36:42 · 12 answers · asked by mony 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Filing as a married couple when there is only one income always reduces your tax burden, and if you are intitled to a return, increases the return.
2007-01-17 18:40:15 · answer #1 · answered by lovingdaddyof2 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
most definitely joint. Also check and see if any of your cost for attending school (if college or some other type of higher education) can be claimed. If you pay for these cost out of pocket, or pay interest on student loans these cost can be claimed. I don't know if you are "common law" spouse if you can file joint return or not. He might be able to file head of household since he is the one that works and pays the household payments. I would check on the qualifications to see if you can file joint return since you are not "legally" married and share the same last name. That might cause some confusion when you submit return so to be on the safe side I would make sure. But the more dependents you have the higher the deduction and the less tax you must pay. So if he can claim you as a dependent would most definitely help. Hope this helped.....
2007-01-17 19:07:26 · answer #2 · answered by Debbie H 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As long as the state in which you live recognizes your common law marriage, you can file married, filing jointly. This will give you the greatest return. If the state doesn't recognize your marriage you will have to file as single, unless there are child dependents, then one of you could file Head of Household.
2007-01-18 00:27:58 · answer #3 · answered by anr 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Joint is better now. I'm not sure, but it used to be that filing jointly got you a lower deduction comparitively to two separate returns. The way I see it now is that it is exactly the same. I can't say for sure if that above statement is true since I'm not married.
2007-01-17 19:48:16 · answer #4 · answered by closetcoon_fan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Joint.
2007-01-17 18:40:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you have children file joint and get the earned income credit if you made less than $38,000 together last year.
2007-01-17 18:42:10 · answer #6 · answered by guitarringer 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were legally married in the US on 12/31/11 you file married. If not, single.
2016-05-24 02:35:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the best way to tell how much you will actually get back is to do both, work them out and see which yeilds the most return. Filing a test run does not take long and will get you the exact answer your looking for to make the best decision.
2007-01-17 18:41:33 · answer #8 · answered by pixelchix 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Joint is better, he can claim an exemption for you, plus an education credit.
2007-01-18 01:36:25 · answer #9 · answered by growing inside 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
filing joint will get you more tax credits
2007-01-17 18:39:50 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋