Question

In: Accounting

if a couple are living together and hold themselves out as married can they file a...

if a couple are living together and hold themselves out as married can they file a joint return?

Expert Solution

Answer:

Married filing jointly refers to a filing status for married couples that have wed before the end of the year. When filing under the married filing jointly status, couples can record their respective incomes, exemptions and deductions on the same tax return.

If a couple are married, they have the option of filing they tax return jointly or separately. The majority of married couples file joint tax return, but they should use the filing status that is most beneficial to they specific tax situation.

In this case both income, deductions, credits and exemptions on the same tax return, if they file a joint return, both parties are responsible for each other's tax liability. They will be responsible for any tax, penalties, and interest that arises from this tax return, even if they reported no income on the return.

Benefits of married filing jointly.

If couple file as married filing jointly, they tax may be lower than they combined tax would be for another filing status. They standard deduction may be higher, and they may qualify for other tax benefits that do not apply to the other filing statuses.

There are many benefits to filing a joint tax return. The IRS gives joint filers one of the largest standard deductions each year, allowing them to deduct a significant amount of their income immediately.

Couples who file together can usually qualify for multiple tax credits such as the:

Earned income tax credit.
Lifetime learning education tax credits.
Exclusion or credit for adoption expenses.
Child and dependent care tax credit.

Filling jointly often means a bigger tax refund or a lower tax liability. However, this is not always to case.

Requirements to the file married filing jointly:

They can use the married filing jointly filing status if both of the following statements are true:

They married on the last day of the tax year.
They both agree to file a joint tax return.

Marital status:

They marriage status for tax purpose is determined by they marriage status on the last day of the tax year. If they are unmarried, divorced, or legally separated on December 31, they are considered unmarried for the year.

Divorced:

They marriage status is determined by they status on the last day of the year. If they were divorced on or before December 31, then they are considered unmarried for the entire year and they cannot use either married filing status.

Same sex married couples:

Legally married same sex couples are required to file as either married filing jointly or as married separately, same sex couples that have been legally married must file as married filing jointly on their federal tax return.

State tax return as a same sex married couple:

If the state for which they are filing a return recognizes same sex marriages, they will be able to file as married filing jointly, provided they meet all the normal requirements.

How to e-file as married filing jointly:

They can claim the married filing jointly filing status when they prepare from 1040 tax return. It is easy to file as married filing jointly on e-file.com. Choosing they filing status is one of the first things they do when they start preparing they tax return online.

ekkarill92 answered 11 months ago

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