@Soprano1016 wrote:
I’m not sure...it depends on what we can include. We did a conventional mortgage so had 20% and closing costs plus property taxes and CDD. I just wanted to be prepared in case itemized is the way to go.
Before you are married:
You will file separate tax returns. Single, or maybe one of you will file as head of household if you have a qualifying dependent. Each partner can only deduct taxes or interest that he or she actually paid. If audited, you would want to be able to prove that from bank records. Because the standard deduction is fairly high, it may be of benefit for one partner to pay 100% of the mortgage to be able to deduct the interest and property taxes, rather than splitting them on your tax returns. I'm sure you can figure out some way to equalize the other household expenses.
After you are married:
If you are married on 12/31 of the year, you file as married for the whole year. Usually, married filing jointly is best, even if your incomes are different, because many critical deductions and credits are reduced or disallowed when married filing separately.
- If you file jointly, you deduct the entire amount one time, regardless of whose bank account it came from, even if you married at the end of the year.
- If you file separately, you can divide the expense any way you like, regardless of who paid what.
- However, if you file separately and live in a community property state, then the expenses from before the marriage are divided based on who paid what, and the expenses from after the marriage are divided 50/50 regardless of who paid what.
