What is the difference if you are married and file taxes together or seperate?

Question

Is one way better than the other? Are there any advantages to either one?

Answer 1

It is more costly to file separately.

Answer 2

For the vast majority of married couples, filing MFJ is better than MFS. The only real way to tell, however, is to crunch the numbers.

When filing MFS, a number of popular deductions and credits are reduced and/or eliminated. Additionally, if one spouse earns significantly more than the other more of the higher-income spouse's taxable income will be in a higher tax bracket. Also, both spouses must either itemize or take the standard deduction; one cannot take the standard while the other itemizes.

Filing MFS will protect you if you feel your spouse is dishonest on his/her return.

As far as offsets go, MFS will prevent your part of the return from being taken. However, that will probably be offset by higher taxes to the family as a whole. Claiming injured spouse status can protect part of your refund from offsets if you file MFJ.

Answer 3

Married Filing Jointly is the best way. Married Filing Separately is the least desirable filing status to ever use in most situations. Try it both ways and you will see for yourself.

Answer 4

Generally, your marital status on the last day of the year determines your status for the entire year.

If you are unmarried, or if you are legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree according to your state law, and you do not qualify for another filing status, your filing status is single.

Generally, to qualify for head of household status, you must be unmarried and you must have paid more than half the cost of maintaining as your home a household that was the main home for a qualifying person for more than half the year. You may also qualify for head of household status if you, though married, file a separate return, your spouse was not a member of your household during the last six months of the tax year, and you provided more than half the cost of maintaining as your home a household that was the main home for more than one half of your tax year of a qualifying person.

If you are married, you and your spouse may file a joint return or separate returns. If your spouse died and you did not remarry in the year that your spouse died, you may still file a joint return for that year. This is the last year for which you may file a joint return with that spouse.

You may be able to file as a qualifying widow or widower for the two years following the year your spouse died. To do this, you must meet all four of the following tests:

You were entitled to file a joint return with your spouse for the year he or she died. It does not matter whether you actually filed a joint return,
You did not remarry in the two years following the year your spouse died,
You have a child, stepchild, or adopted child (a foster child does not meet this requirement) for whom you can claim a dependency exemption, and
You paid more than half the cost of maintaining a household that was the main home for you and that child, for the whole year.

After the two years following the year in which your spouse died, you may qualify for head of household status.

More detailed information on each filing status can be found in Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

Answer 5

If your spouse happens to owe money, it can suck up your return or visa versa. I suggest finding someone to do your taxes who can crunch the numbers both ways, together and seperate, and advise you on which is your best option this year.

Answer 6

If you owe child support, file separately. I didn''t know about my husband being behind and we filed together. The government took my taxes as well as my husbands to pay his back child support. MEN!

Answer 7

i prefer to file separately only cause last year we filed jointly and they took half of our refund cause my hubby borrowed on his 401k a few years before. in my opinion, i would file separately. oh yeah, we do our own taxes on turbotax.com, its really simple to do.