My husband and I just got married 10/6, should we file jointly or separately? Also, how many should we claim?

Answer 1

Hey, slow down, tax time isn't until
April - 6mos - some marriages don't
last that long (lol)

Answer 2

Filing married or separately afford you the same standard deduction (5,350 married filing separately per person) and 10,700 (married filing jointly).. The only caveat to filing jointly is if there are any outstanding obligations with either party... Once you file married filing jointly, the combination of refunds are susceptible to any claims against it (i.e. outstanding tax due, student loans defaulted, etc)... You should always file married filing jointly if you do not have the above problems AND one of you will not have any tax liability.. If one of you has no taxable income, the other party could benefit from the remainder of the exemption not used...

I hope that helps..

Oh.. to answer your 2nd question.. You should claim at a maximum 1 exemption/deduction (on your w-4)for you and 1 for your husband/wife (on their w-4).... However, if you are earning 100K or over together, you should consider claiming 0 exemptions.. Remember, you can always change the exemptions you claim at any point during the year by changing the W-4.. I disagree with giving all exemptions to the higher wage earner.. I guarantee that following that scenario will cause you to pay tax in at the end of the year.. Hope that helps you out..

Answer 3

Assuming that you're still married on 12/31, you are considered married for the entire year. Your only choices are Married Filing Jointly and Married Filing Separately. In nearly all cases you'll pay less tax by filing Married Filing Jointly.

When you file your return, you'll claim 2 personal exemptions, one for each of you.

As to filing your forms W-4 at work, it's probably best to file as Married and 1 withholding allowance. It would be best for you to sit down together and complete the worksheets on page 2 of Form W-4 to figure out the total number of allowances that you should claim. Whatever number you come up with is the total that you should claim between you, NOT EACH! If one of you makes significantly more than the other, the higher earner should claim all the allowances and the other should claim zero.

Answer 4

If you got married anytime during this year, you can file married, and I'm pretty sure that no matter what your income is, you will come out better by filing jointly.

The worksheet on the tax return will tell you how to count dependents. The W-2 that you sign for your employer is the form where you can choose how many dependents you want. The more you put, the less $$ they will take out of your paycheck every pay period, but if you guess too high, you will end up owing $$ when you file your tax return. The less you put (you can even choose married but claiming single) the more they will take out of your paycheck each pay period, but you will be more likely to get a refund. The trick is to try to get it as close as you can (this can be hard to estimate because the tax laws keep changing) so that the IRS doesn't get to keep your $$ interest free during the year, and so you don't end up having to pay in the difference all at once!

Answer 5

MFJ or MFS is not a straight forward answer. True in most cases it is better for a married couple to file jointly. However there can be some exceptions.

The best way to answer the question is to say "wait until you file your taxes". Whether you use a program like Turbo Tax or go to a tax preparer, you should be able to enter all your information and then run a MFJ v MFS diagnostic to determine which filing status is most beneficial.

Answer 6

You would be better off to file "married filing jointly" and you would claim two. Married filing separately is the least desirable filing status. The key date is what is your martial status as of Dec 31, 2007.

Answer 7

jointly. claim as many as you are responsible for under your roof. usually under 18 unless students in college still living at home, sometimes elderly you're taking care of at your residence.