questions and thank you for your help

[Raith]

Hi,

I hope you are well; I have couple of question if you don't mind, please, I am married, so first we would like to know if it's better to apply for taxes jointly or separately? we have a rental property and my husband is the only one who pays for its taxes, so is it better for him if I fie taxes jointly with him or not?

another question, I have a marketplace insurance and my husband doesn't, they said for this year we will not to be able to file jointly, is that the case? what should we do next year? should we both get marketplace insurance or go to private insurance instead?

if I deposit constantly to IRA account, will it help in my taxes? and if I am not working is it good to open an IRA account to save money? will it make a difference with my taxes?

I have 401k account will it help with my tax? or should I just keep the money in my bank saving account?

Thank you for your help. 

Have a good day. 😀

[Laura_CPA]

Hi Raith,

Happy to assist with your questions! If you are married at the end of the tax year, usually 12/31, you may file Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or Married Filing Separately (MFS). If you file MFJ, your income will be combined with your husband's income and the deductions will be combined as well. What do I mean by deductions? For example, if you use the Standard Deduction, it is $25,900 for Tax Year 2022 (this reduces your taxable income). Now, if you decide to file MFJ, your income and your husband's income as well as the deductions will be reported separately. The Standard Deduction that you'll each get in 2022 is $12,950. I would recommend you file based on the status that is more tax advantageous for both of you. To determine that, you can use our Tax Caster Calculator: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/

As far as the Marketplace Insurance is concerned, you may file jointly, you'll just report the 1095-A which will contain your information only, on the 1040. Depending on your filing status, this may impact your taxes either with a credit or a balance due, without the numbers it is hard to say in this thread. However, make sure you are reporting any increases in pay to the marketplace, it will affect your taxes if you do  not. 

Now, you may get an IRA deduction on your tax return for up to $6,000 (and if you're 50 or older, $7,000) and as long as your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is less than $129,000 for 2022. What's Modified AGI? Here's a link for additional information: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/magi.asp

If you are currently employed and are contributing to your 401(k), then it is helping you reduce your taxable wages already. If you are not working and not contributing, then the 401(k), will not help you in 2022, it is just sitting in your account. 

I hope we were able to answer all of your questions, if you feel you need additional information, please send us a message.

Cheers,

Laura