When is it better to file separate tax returns
Married Couples: To File Taxes Joint or Separate? I Mark Kohler
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hi my name is Mark for CBA attorney and
senior tax advisor here at tax level
let's talk about the topic of married
filing separate versus jointly this is a
big topic because we want to find out
which way is the better way to go on our
tax return to get the maximum tax
savings now let me say initially of
course the tax Slayer software is
amazing to help you make this
determination because you can actually
run the numbers both directions you want
to check the boxes and and see which
option plays out so and this could be a
really good idea let's go through some
of the criteria that might encourage you
to take this extra time and step to see
what situation is best for you now what
we've noticed over the years and
thousands of types of terms is that
married filing joint is generally better
than married filing separately but the
reason why jointly generally works
better is because you get the dependent
care expense
and maybe the adoption expense some
unique expenses that can help you out
you get the double of the standard
deduction which is great and the tax
return is kind of built more for a
married filing joint a lot of the phase
outs are higher and if both of you are
not earning income equivalent levels
then those higher phase outs
pay off that's a good thing so that's
why the married filing joint has
generally been better in the long run
however in turn there's those
circumstances and and limited ones I
suppose where the separate filing
actually pays off for example when both
spouses are earning approximately the
same amount of money and sometimes good
amount of money you know that you're
gonna want to put in those figures and
see maybe the phase outs are actually
working against you the medical expense
is one of them and so you can sometimes
get a more bang for your buck as an
itemized deduction when you're married
filing separately in summary run the
numbers there's nothing wrong with it
and I think this is an important
consideration that you should think
about especially when you have a spouse
with all the income for the family or a
situation where both the husband and
wife are making about this
same amount that's when things can get
unique and tricky when it comes to these
phase outs and unique deductions so run
it through the software you're gonna be
able to determine quickly which method
is best for you and let's get in there
save some taxes
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you
