How to Choose Your Tax Filing Status if You’re Married
If you’re married then you’ve probably just always filed a joint return with your spouse. In fact, chances are you’ve never even considered filing any other way. However, for some people, married filing jointly is not the best option. Depending on your situation, it could be more advantageous to file separately. Here are some things to consider when choosing what filing status to use if you are married.
While in many cases, filing together could help lessen the tax hit on you and your spouse it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, the only advantage of filing jointly is that you only have to worry about one return. If you and your spouse both work and one of you earns a lot more than the other, then it will typically be better to file jointly, as it will usually help reduce your combined tax bill.
On the other hand, there are other circumstances wherein it that might better to file separately. For example, if you both have taxable income and one of you has a lot of itemized deductions limited by adjusted gross income (AGI), then it might make sense to file separately. That’s because by filing separately, you can also separate both of your AGI’s. If your AGIs are lower on your separate returns, you can save on your tax bill.
This is just one example of where filing separately from your spouse could be helpful. However, it’s best to weigh all your options before making that choice. If you’re not sure what status to choose, you can contact us at GROCO for help. We’ll look at all the numbers and all the possible scenarios and choose the best path for you. Call us at 1-877-CPA-2006, or click here.
Are You Practicing These Important Leadership Skills?
Are You Practicing These Important Leadership Skills? Imagine if you had the greatest tool in the world but you never used it. What good would that do you? Obviously, the tool would be useless. Now imagine you’re in a very important leadership position, with many significant responsibilities. You worked hard and learned several valuable leadership…
How to Invest for Your Grandkids
How to Invest for Your Grandkids Have you reached that pinnacle of life yet? Do you know the one where you’re a grandparent? Having grandkids is an amazing experience and opportunity. But with all of the fun, comes more responsibility. Now you have even more people to worry about. In fact, for some grandparents, taking…
How Has the Tax Reform Affected the Real Estate Market?
How Has the Tax Reform Affected the Real Estate Market? One of the doom and gloom theories regarding the federal tax reform, also known as the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, was that it would put a heavy burden on the real estate market. The theory was that because the reform placed a $10,000 cap…
How to Lower Your Tax Bill in Retirement
How to Lower Your Tax Bill in Retirement How far away are you from retirement? Are you getting closer to those so-called “golden years?” If you are then you hopefully you’ve already started preparing for your retirement with a sound plan. Retirement is supposed to be a glorious time in life. But unfortunately, for many,…