You have a choice of "married filing jointly" (MFJ) or married filing separate", (MFS) but you may NOT file as "single"if you are married on Dec. 31. The combined tax when spouses file their own returns is very rarely less than the tax when filing jointly. You would only file separately if one spouse has large itemized deductions that would be wiped out by the other's income, and don't ask me to explain that, my typing is too slow. After 34 tax season's I can count on one hand the number of times clients have filed MFS and saved any money.

 

thanks for the info, very helpful

i guess either way, IRS wins

 

I will have no complaints this tax season. After hitting 37 as a single person and attaining my house and cars and other random crap all by myself, the double income thing is the greatest.

We keep seperate incomes so we can spend on what we want without annoying the other, but just getting some participation with all the expenses makes all the difference in the world. I should have become a DINK ten years ago.

 

You're a newlywed right? We'll see how long the you keep the seperate incomes and how long you remain a DINK

 

Yeah. I may be on borrowed time.

 

What's a DINK?

 

Dual Income No Kids

 

Ah, okay. I've never been a DINK, then.

When I was in school, she was working (I was working too, but not for much money). When I finished school, we'd already had a kid, so at worst she was working a very minor part-time job.

If we were doing that now, we'd be pulling in big bucks.

 

Marriage penalty for us. For damn sure! Cost us several thousand dollars more than when we were single. My tax accountant just shook his head sadly when I told him I got married...

 

Good argument for just living together- but try telling her that!e