NWR: When filing taxes jointly as a married couple

Jojo - if you own a home, it'll help because you'll get to deduct your interest & property taxes.  But, just think about it this way ... if you and FI each make $60K, once you're married, your combined income is $120K, which will push you into a higher tax bracket that the 2 single incomes would be taxed at.  make sense?

I am kind of weird in that I love filling out forms and so naturally I love doing our taxes. At the end of the year last year I used the tax tables from the prior year and figured out what our taxes would be if we were married (cause if it was way less we totally would have had a civil ceremony) but we would have owed a couple thousand more. Soo.... I am not looking forward to next years taxes. Hopefully I will be pregnant and will stop working so we won't have much of my income to pay taxes on, hahaha.

I work in payroll...it depends on your tax bracket...but you are claiming more allowances. It should be to your benefit....

However, I am in the same situation as Kristeen...FI is self-employed so he pays when he files.

My DH and I own our home together, and we got like $7k back last year.  This year we expect to get like $10k.  So I think you have better chances at getting more back by filing jointly and owning a home together.  It also depends on what you claim, and what tax bracket you are in.

Here is a FABULOUS article that explains how to get the most bang for your buck...

http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/28/marriage-financial-planning-cx_sr_0501marriagefive.html

We owe every freaking year and it drives me nuttso!!!!!

I hope we don't owe this year! We own a home so hopefully we will get some $$ this year!

I've never had to pay, but DH has always paid. Since we own a home now and have some special tricks up our sleeve we will hopefully, in a round about way, end up making money. By filing together we're bumped into a higher tax bracket, so I get more decutions from my paycheck.

I use HRBlock.com online and you can run the numbers both ways to see which is more advantageous.  My understanding is that married filing separately is an advantage if one partner WAY outearns the other.  My DH and earn about the same so we filed jointly.

just dont file jointly if one of you owes student loans or back taxes, they will take anything you get back and apply it to what you owe!