Hi, my husband and I just got married this year- I worked full time from Jan. through June, and will be a student for the rest of the year. I have also just taken out a student loan for this fall. My husband will have worked under the table the entire year- so his income is untaxed. There is no record. Technically he does not work. (Oh and he is not a student either.) We have lived together the entire year- how does the dependent thing work? And would it be better for us to file jointly or seperately this coming Jan.?
2007-08-05 14:24:46 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Bad move to marry a blatant tax evader. That made it more likely that he'll be caught, and now your assets are fair game for the IRS when they go after back taxes and penalties. Whether to file jointly or not is a small issue compared to the issue of criminality. I'd suggest you see a lawyer who deals with tax issues and decide how to handle this.
You cannot claim a spouse as a dependent. There are various rules for claiming other people you support as dependents (children, parents, siblings, friends, etc.) but there is no way to claim a spouse as a dependent. However, each spouse gets one automatic personal exemption, which is just as good.
It is extremely rare that filing separately leads to lower taxes than filing jointly.
2007-08-05 15:42:56 · answer #1 · answered by Houyhnhnm 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Since you got married this year you have two filing options, married filing joint and married filing separately. You can not each file as single anymore. In most cases married filing joint provides the lowest tax due.
Also the "under the table" income by law is taxable and should be reported to the IRS and is taxable.
Dependency only applies if you have children or parent whom lives with you and you provide over 50% of their support.
Your parents can no longer claim you or your spouse b/c you are married.
My advice is see an accoutant, the tax code is quite complex
2007-08-05 14:42:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
For most people, filing jointly is usually better but you can run it both ways and find out. You may want to warn her that her days of getting the huge refund are now over.
2016-05-19 16:32:13 · answer #3 · answered by velvet 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The easist answer that requires the most work is to do both and see which one is best. The problem with married couples is that when both incomes that are taxed at a lower percentage when combined placed the total income into another higher tax bracket. This causes more taxes to be owed, even if both people would have gotten refunds if they were single.
2007-08-05 17:34:34 · answer #4 · answered by m_knobel 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You would file as married filing jointly. You cannot claim your husband as a dependent. Just hope that your husband doesn't get caught by the irs at not declaring his income, you won't be able to get away with claiming innocent spouse since you know what he's doing.
2007-08-05 14:40:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
You could figure it both ways, and file the way that's best for you.
You realize, of course, that he is committing tax evasion if he doesn't report his under the table income and pay taxes on it. If and when he gets caught, he will be in serious trouble and owe a ton of money - and don't think he can't get caught, he can and very possibly will. If you file a joint return with him, you'd be equally liable for what he'd owe.
How does the dependent thing work? Since you are married, you don't claim the other one as a dependent. If you filed a joint return, you'd get an exemption for each of you.
2007-08-05 14:43:00 · answer #6 · answered by Judy 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Jointly...it is like when you have a kid on Dec 31st...you still get the tax deduction of having the child even though they were only alive for a few hours of the year! You will get a bigger refund if you file married.
2007-08-05 15:15:10 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
First of all, stop deluding yourself. Your husband's income IS subject to tax. He's just planning to be a tax evader. And if you plan to sign a joint return, you're going to be an accessory as well. You might want to rethink that.
2007-08-05 16:15:39 · answer #8 · answered by SDD 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
neither one of you is a kid for the other( so dependent will Not work)
ask your tax person to calculate married joint and married separate to see what works best for the 2 of you
2007-08-05 14:33:46 · answer #9 · answered by Mopar Muscle Gal 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
married filing joint, you'll get better tax breaks,
unless you have kids there are no dependents
and never never never put in type or tell anyone especially strangers that anyone is working under the table, not cool.
2007-08-05 14:37:41 · answer #10 · answered by Bingo 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋