Correction to the last question... Actually I say husband, but we are not married yet. Honestly we just have never set aside the money and time really. We will someday. However, we do live together and have two girls together. We just moved to texas so we both are submitting new W2's, he has already put down 3 on his. I will start my job in a couple of weeks, what should I put???
Sorry for the previous question, we are just so used to saying we are married b/c it is just simply easier and better excepted.
2007-08-03 08:54:04 · 4 answers · asked by Hi-D 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
If the two girls are your children together, then either one of you (but not both) can claim them on their tax return, or you can each claim one of them. You should figure your taxes all three ways to see how you get the lowest total tax.
If only one of you is their biological parent, then that person is the only one who can claim them.
If he's going to claim them at tax time, then you should stick to single-1 on your W-4 so you don't end up owing when you file.
2007-08-03 09:11:12 · answer #1 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Looking over the answers of other contributors, they are very good answers. In Texas if you open a joint bank account as Mr. and Mrs. Jones or sign a lease or purchase a home or car as a married couple, you are common-law married. Also, you may consider in Texas, marriage licenses are cheap and if you get married by a Justice of the Peace, your total cost will usually be less than $150.00. It sounds like it would be a tax advantage for your family if both of you filed married joint returns--as long as both of you do not have any outstanding tax issues, pass due child support issues, unearned income tax credit issues, or alimony issues.
There are other financial issues related to being married or not married--inheritance laws, social security survivor benefits for children if one of you dies before the children are 18.
2007-08-04 13:45:02 · answer #2 · answered by oldcorps1947 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How you will prepare your W-4s and how you will file will depend in part upon who is the parent of the children. If you are both their parents, the one with the higher income should normally claim the children. However, the EIC could affect that so you may want to crunch the numbers both ways and see which works out best for you.
If only one of you is the parent of the children then that person alone can claim exemptions for them and should fill out their W-4 appropriately. The other would normally claim 0 or 1.
2007-08-03 09:01:17 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hey! Take note: Whether or not you are "married" for tax purposes is based on whether you are considered "married" by your state. Texas has a common-law marriage rule, so you may be allowed to consider yourself "married" in Texas, even if you have never been "to the chapel".
See below:
2007-08-03 11:53:51 · answer #4 · answered by Tom's Mom 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋