that's what the AARP guy who helped me do my taxes says. the only differences between this year and last year are that last year i filed as married filing jointly, this year i'm filing as married filing separate. and last year the IRS paid me (well, us, because we filed jointly) something like $800.
also, does anyone know why someone filing married/separate can't claim tuition as a deduction, when apparently i could claim it if i was filing as married?
what a crack-pot system.
2007-04-05 10:46:10 · 7 answers · asked by leilani 6 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
$1500 you owe + $800 refund last year = $2300 net change. Assuming the 25% bracket, that comes to $9200 difference in taxable income. The difference in standard deduction between married filing jointly and married filing separately is $5150. The personal exemption you don't get for your spouse is $3300. That leaves $750 difference in taxable income unexplained. Given your mention of a tuition deduction you are no longer eligible for, that sounds close to me.
2007-04-05 14:40:21 · answer #1 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If last year you filed a joint return and this year filed separately, there are a large number of possible reasons why you owe, so nobody can answer why without knowing what was on your return last year. It’s possible that last year also you had underpaid, but your spouse had overpaid enough to make up for it. Or deductions and credits that you don’t get this year might have lowered your tax liability. Or if your spouse had much less income than you, that would make a substantial difference too.
There are a number of tax benefits that aren’t available to someone filing as married filing separately. Education credits are among those.
By the way, hstevi is incorrect – there’s just a specific telephone tax you can deduct, not “any and all”.
2007-04-05 22:37:19 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There can be many reasons that you owe this year.
One-you do not have that person as a dependant against your income
Two-Were you claiming the person in your deductiosn thru the year at work? I have ha so many people claim 2 all year, then only claim one on taxes...this will REALLY get you in the end.
Three-Was your tuition more than your personal exemtion? If not it does not matter. Just like MFS people do not get Earned Income Credit for children, there are some things that just are not fair, and there is no reason. Many people file MFS to get more money, so that's one of the ways they avoid that. Your AARP guy should have been able to tell you all of these things when he did your taxes if he was worth anything. I am going to be honest and tell you that without my book in front of me I still cannot remember the standard deductions amounts by heart. Hope this give you a start on where to look, but without seeing your taxes I cannot tell you for sure what happened, but I am sorry.
2007-04-05 18:09:20 · answer #3 · answered by breezer 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
MFS filing status actually eliminates most tax credits. I would not use it unless absolutely necessary (i.e. you are separated from your spouse and not speaking) 99% of the time it is detrimental to use this filing status. As to why you owe the money, it could be for a number of reasons. Did your spouse work? If not, you had a $10000 standard deduction in addition to 2 (or more if you have children) personal exemptions so you deducted at least $16,400 from your income. This year you had a $5150 standard deduction and 1 (again unless you claimed children or other dependents) personal exemption for a total of $8450.
2007-04-05 20:05:19 · answer #4 · answered by Amy F 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
certain things that are allowed as a deduction for persons filing a joint return, filing a single return, or filing as head of household are not allowed if filing as married filing separately. I'm a CPA, and I don't make the rules, I just prepare the returns the way the rules are per the IRS.
2007-04-05 18:53:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The IRS should send you a letter explaining why you owe that money and if something is wrong with what they have and you have --Appeal letter can be written and Amendment if something you read is wrong, etc; make sure you have receipts. MFS does not qualify for claim tuition. Yes, you could file if MFJ. Wait on letter of explanation.
2007-04-05 18:26:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
im not really sure about that but keep in mind that you can deduct any and all telephone taxes you've paid land line or cell line or business ,etc.
2007-04-05 17:56:01 · answer #7 · answered by hstevi 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋