Should we file jointly or seperately?

Question

We have been married 3 years and never filed jointly. We have been considering filing jointly and wonder what the benifit to that is. We don't have any property or joint accounts.

Answer 1

In that case, you should still file separately. The joint exemptions mostly cover property ownership and tax breaks on things like child support, education expenses, etc. For more info, consult my friend Mitchell Friedman at: [e-mail]. He's an expert with over 20 years of tax preparation experience, including working at the IRS.

Answer 2

In nearly all cases you will pay much less tax by filing a joint return. You can still refile the prior years as joint and get a refund from those years. File Form 1040X for each of those years.

Owning property or having joint accounts are not prerequisites for filing a joint return. The only requirement is that you are married. Your marital status on 12/31 determines your filing status for the entire year. If you are married on 12/31, your options are Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately. MFJ will almost always result in a lower total tax liability.

Answer 3

Well.. it's better to file jointly if you have kids because you get more credits and breaks. If you don't have kids... then it's up to you... you should run your taxes both ways to see which way is more beneficial to you and your spouse. If you are both over 25 you may qualify for earned income credit... always check into that.

Other than that... I would just suggest running your taxes both ways and go with the more beneficial filing status.

Answer 4

I think you get more tax breaks filiing jointly. Do you have a tax preparer? Ask them. Or, if you use TurboTax, do it one way and see how it comes out, then try it the other way and compare (it'll probably take all day - that program takes forever to do!).

Answer 5

Joint filing usually saves taxes. u can file free online see links