I have no clue what to do when it comes to filling taxes?

Question

This will be my first year for alot of things this year.I am no longer a dependent under my mother.I got married last year.And I had a baby.Same goes for my husband .We have no clue where to start.I read on here neither of us can claim head of household and we don't know why.Should we file seperate or together.Who should claim our daughter.I didn't work much last year due to I was pregnant.We are both in school also(if that counts for anything )I heard from somewhere that my husband could claim me because I was out of work during prenancy.What can we claim on our taxes is daycare or clothes something we can claim.We really just have no clue what to do and we want to be prepared .We don't want those tax people just telling us anything

Answer 1

That's correct. Head-Of-Household filing status is for "considered unmarried" taxpayers ONLY, who have one or more "qualifying dependents." If you are MARRIED, you're not eligible to be "considered unmarried," in the eyes of the IRS, unless you two get legally separated.

Married filing jointly, in most situations, is a more favorable filing status to choose, as a married couple, than "married filing separately." ONE TAX FORM per married couple. You claim your daughter on it, as a dependent.

YES, it sure DOES count that you were both in school -- you two probably double-qualify for a super-important tax CREDIT, as long as it was an eligible school to receive Stafford Loan funds, which almost any school or college does these days. A tax CREDIT, you get ONE HUNDRED percent of the amount. A tax DEDUCTION, you get twenty-eight percent, or less, of the amount. You should immediately download the long form 1040 and the INSTRUCTIONS booklet, about 70 pages, and print it out. And also the Education Tax Credit form, the Child And Dependent Care Expenses form, and maybe even Schedule A - Itemized Deductions, if you paid out a lot (as in, greater than 7.5 percent of your gross yearly income) in medical expenses, which you might have if you paid the prenatal, labor-and-delivery, neonatal, pediatric, etc. costs uninsured out of your pockets. Or high medical insurance premiums on the policy that covered any claim you filed for same. You'll want to look especially hard at the EARNED INCOME CREDIT worksheets which begin around page 48 of the Instructions. And the Child Tax Credit (CTC) worksheet. And the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) worksheet. There's gold in them thar hills. Get your calculator and pads of paper out. Download, and print, and read, and compute. Download, and print, and read, and compute. Download, and print, and read, and compute. And keep your coffee pot brewing. You're due some cash, it seems.

Answer 2

You will get Forms W-2 from your employers by January 31. You will file as "Married Filing Jointly" . You will list your daughter as a dependent on your joint return.

Your both being in school, and your paying for childcare, only matter if you owe tax. A married couple with a child will not owe any tax until their income is greater than $21,200. So if your income is less, make it simple for yourself and skip the education and child care credits.

If your income is under about $36,000 you will get an Earned Income Credit because you have a dependent child. You may get a refund even if your income was low and no tax was withheld.

If you do not feel comfortable filing yourself, use a commercial tax preparer. Talk to them about your situation, and if you feel good about proceeding with the preparer, do that. Otherwise, go to another preparer or ask for a different preparer.

There are lots of people who want to assist you.

Answer 3

Someone who is married and living with their spouse is not allowed to file head of household. They can file jointly, which gives lower taxes than head of household would. Filing jointly gives you the lowest tax rates available. Your husband doesn't "claim" you, but with joint filing, you get one exemption for each of you.

You'll be eligible for various credits - child tax credit and probably education credits. If your daycare expenses were to enable to you work, then you can get a credit for some portion of those, but not if it was to let you go to school. You will also probably be eligible for the Earned Income Credit, if your total income between you is less than $34,000.

Answer 4

You guys can file as "married filing Jointly" which would get you back alot more than filing head of household. You can also get a child tax credit by claiming the baby.

Answer 5

if you got married last year then you can file jointly and you wont have to worry about dependents. Also if your child was born this year or last you can still claim them and put that they lived all year in your house.

Answer 6

go to a reputable tax place or an accountant. maybe ask your friends for a reccomendation, they have always been extremely with my taxes. They will file for you and answer any and all questions you have.

hope this helps!