A M Frantz
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For the vast majority of couples, it is preferable to file jointly. An IRA is an excellent option for you to look at for tax deferred income, but it is certainly true that in the current shaky economy you want to look carefully at how the money is invested and the financial stability of firm holding your IRA. |
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elaeblue
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Figure it out both ways - joint and single, use the one thats most advantageious. |
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travelguruette
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You can file married joint or married separate. You pay more taxes separate and many deductions are disallowed. CA is a community property state so you must add both your salaries together and divide by 2 for income. |
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stephenweinstein
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Assuming that you are female and your husband's wife, it is probably advantageous to file jointly. The reason is that the income per person will be less than if you filed separately (because your husband makes less than you), so your tax bracket may be lower filing jointly. (Compared to a single person, a married couple filing jointly can make twice as much [combined] before being pushed into a higher tax bracket.]
[If you are male, you must file your federal taxes as "single" (the IRS does not allow two husbands to file jointly), but the previous paragraph does apply to your CA state taxes (CA recognizes same-sex unions.)]
Some, but not all, employers allow you to defer taxable income through a 401K, SIMPLE plan, SEP, 403B, or 456 plan. For these plans, you have to have the money withheld from your paycheck and paid directly to the plan by the employer; you cannot do it yourself. An IRA is also an option, but the amount that you can contribute is limited to only a few $1000 per year. |
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Jss
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Read about married filing
http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/02/filing-status-for-married.html |
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Judy1
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You'll almost surely do better overall by filing a joint return, but you could figure it both ways, joint or each as married filing separately, to be sure.
If you are in a high enough bracket to make it worthwhile, you could put money into tax free bond funds for investment. As to tax deferral on your income, be sure you and your husband are putting the maximum allowed into 401K's or IRA's. |
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Tedi
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You only have 2 options. MFS or MFJ. If you can do MFJ than it would be best unless you believe one of you is an Innocent spouse in the others illegal business(hard to prove you don't know). |
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don1862
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It is almost always better to file jointly. But you can try it both ways and see which is cheaper. |
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v b
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It's not perfect, but see if you can get a copy of last year's software and run some scenarios and print them out and look at them.
This will help you figure out if you can boost your 401K at work or if you are even eligible to deposit money into an IRA. |
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Jessica S
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use a online program and use both ways. www.taxcut.com or www.turbotax.com...both can be used for free till you actually want to file. |
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Beau.Gus
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Use one of the tax filing software packages (TaxCut, TurboTax, etc.) and after you enter all your data, it will allow you to calculate your tax bill each way. They will also allow you to figure out how much you could save by making additional contributions of various amounts to retirement accounts... |
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gr8sk8rgold
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I am a single woman with no kids who owns property. I know for a fact that being married and filing jointly helps you tax wise. Take a look at any of the tax brackets in the IRS booklets that you can get at a main branch of your local library. Further, I know this from my own (painful) experience when I was working at Ford Motor Co. I was making $50,000 a year and every week I had at least 1/4 of my check taken for federal taxes, that does not include state, SS, etc. File jointly! |
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Miss Fix It
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If you file jointly, your total income will more likely be in a higher bracket and taxed more. Also I think it is better for couples to keep their finances separate - you never know what will happen. |
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