Tax Breaks - are they better if you have kids and are single or married?

Answer 1

Tax breaks for kids are pretty much the same whether you are single or married, except that if you are married and file separate returns, some breaks such as the dependent care credit are not available to you.

Answer 2

There still exists a marriage penalty. Head of Household is the best way to file a return if you can, then Single, then Married. Avoid filing Married Filing Separately. It gets horrible tax treatment, and its an audit red flag with the IRS.

You get credits for your children, but its chump change compared to how much it costs to raise a kid.

Answer 3

You get a $1,000 per child tax credit for kids under age 17. Married has higher standard deduction than single, more personal exemptions than single, and also tax brackets for taxable income stay lower than for single.

Answer 4

If you are married then you can make more in each tax bracket.

The tax credit currently is $1000 per child. You can review the below link to see if you qualify for the credit.

Answer 5

The credits for children, child credit, additional child credit and earned income credit are only available if you file a joint return or are a head of household. They are the same, married or single. If you live with your spouse over half the year you must file a joint return to get the credits.

Answer 6

You can get a child credit and sadly the is a penalty for being married.

Of course when the FAIRTAX ACT H.R. 25 passes, you will have no income tax. check it out. www.fairtax.org
Frequently Asked Questions about the FairTax http://www.fairtax.org/fairtax/faqs.htm