I just dont want to incure interest & past due charges to make up for the marriage penalty. Do you think they'll hit me with some back charges for that?
2007-10-01 06:00:16 · 8 answers · asked by Kevo 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
You should file as married for this year, the longer you file as single the worst it will be when the IRS catches up with your other returns.. Also, talk to accountant about your situation for the past 2 years-it might be best to file an amended return for those two years now, the last thing you want is to get an audit and have to pay more in Interest and penalties which can be high.
2007-10-01 06:12:00 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You know that you filed illegally for those two years. To make it right and legal, you'll have to file an amended return correcting this. You might or might not owe anything. Not everyone pays a "marriage penalty" although some do - some people do better by filing married than single, some do about the same. If you got EIC, then you could have problems although you might have been eligible filing married anyway.
In any case, file correctly this year as married. It won't be cross checked with the earlier years.
2007-10-01 06:11:56 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There isn't a marriage penalty, that went away quite a long time ago (unless you are talking about 179 depreciation). You used an illegal filing status if you filed single when you were married, when you signed your tax form you swore under penalty of perjury that the information was correct and complete to the best of your knowledge.
The best thing for you to do right now is amend the returns to correct your filing status. Hopefully neither one of you took an earned income credit that you might not have been eligible for when filing jointly.
2007-10-02 17:49:37 · answer #3 · answered by Rebecca - 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you filed as single while you were married you have filed incorrectly. You need to file amended returns for the years in question. If any tax is due -- there may or may not be -- you will also owe penalties and interest.
Whether you want to do this or not is irrelevant to the issue at hand; it's not your call.
2007-10-01 10:07:49 · answer #4 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
More than likely, both of you made a mistake by filing as "single". If you are married then you have two choices. You can file: married filing separately (the least desirable filing status to use) or: married filing jointly. I do not understand why would anyone file single when they are married? Both of you pay more when filing single.
2007-10-03 03:44:30 · answer #5 · answered by Gary 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you have children that were claimed on the past two years' tax returns, and did you or your spouse receive credits such as the Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, and Earned Income Credit based on those children?
If so, it is not unlikely that the IRS will catch this discrepancy once you file as married, jointly claiming your children. It would be best to file amended returns and pay what you owe.
If you had no children, then you likely paid more in tax than necessary. I would again file amended returns and get the refund coming to you.
2007-10-01 08:05:16 · answer #6 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Only if they notice. They don't ask you for your marriage date on the tax forms, so I don't think you'd get caught. Besides, the sooner you start doing it right, the lower the bill would be if they randomly audited you and thought you underpaid. If you keep doing it wrong and get caught, you'll have built up more years of money owed (and more interest, more fees). So start doing it right, and keep your fingers crossed that they don't notice you've been married two years.
2007-10-01 06:09:00 · answer #7 · answered by wayfaroutthere 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, You pay more in taxes fileing singe anyway.
2007-10-01 06:08:15 · answer #8 · answered by shreck 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋