My wife worked part-time and only made about $10,100 last year. Should we file our tax returns separately? Because she made so little does that reduce her tax burden? Also, if we file separately can we both claim our son as a dependant?
2007-01-25 21:38:51 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Never ever file "married seperate" on pain of death. There are a lot of tax benefits that you'll lose if you do (some may apply to you, some may not).
For your dependant, only one of you would get the exemption.
2007-01-25 21:47:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
crazydave (who must be a tax professional with a handle like that...takes one to know one btw) is correct. If you are going to do your taxes yourself, any decent software will give you the best filing status if, and only if, you answer every question accurately. Make sure you allocate income and deductions between yourself and your wife. Above all, make sure you answer questions about your son accurately. This board is full of questions from people who have failed to do that and then wonder why their refund is so low.
Having said that, you will almost certainly find that married, filing jointly is the way to go. Her income, in the grand scheme of things, is not really high enough to make much of a difference in the computation.
It is not an option to ignore this computation, though. You never know when it may be relevant.
2007-01-25 22:29:36 · answer #2 · answered by skip 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If your divorce was final in 2007, then neither you nor your ex can file a joint return OR married filing separately. By the end of the year you weren't married. So your status was single, or head of household if you qualify for that. And if for years when you WERE married your husband filed as married filing separately, no you can't file a joint return for that year - that takes both of your signatures to do.
2016-05-24 01:11:23 · answer #3 · answered by Clarissa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Regardless of your incomes it is almost always beneficial to file a joint return. The IRS recommends that you prepare your returns both ways and file whichever way works out best for you two as a whole.
If you do file separate returns, only one of you can claim your child. A dependent can never be claimed by 2 taxpayers and the IRS will always catch that if you try.
2007-01-25 23:59:33 · answer #4 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You need to file jointly and claim your dependent. You cannot both claim the same dependent on separate returns.
2007-01-26 00:19:46 · answer #5 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually, married filing joint works out the best. Just figure it out both ways. If you have Turbo Tax or some other software, it would be easy to calculate. If you do filie separate, only one can claim your son.
2007-01-25 22:02:45 · answer #6 · answered by crazydave 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋