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Getting Married

I have always filed as HOH and single, but when I get married will it affect the amount of my return? How do I file so my return doesn't change? I count on that money.

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6 Replies

Getting Married

Possibly.  If you are married you can only file a Joint return or as Married filing Separately.  HOH is only if you lived apart from your spouse the last 6 months of the year and you have a qualifying dependent.

 

Did you both use Turbo Tax last year?

You can not transfer from or combine 2 returns or accounts. Just pick the return for the spouse that has the most complicated return to enter or has any depreciation or business or more investments. Or use the account/return for whoever you want to be listed first going forward (by the way you can not change the order of the names). Then add the other spouse's name, ssn and info to it.

 

You should usually file a Joint return which is only 1 return combined for the both of you. Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction. And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out. Make sure to stick with this one account for the future. Just ignore the other spouse's account.


Getting Married FAQ
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-filing-status/help/what-does-getting-married-mean-for-my-taxes...


Tax info on getting married
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/getting-married/L0DvEUlEC

 

Cindy4
Employee Tax Expert

Getting Married

Hi lindseyhop!

 

Filing jointly as married will actually increase your standard deduction above head of household.  For 2023, married couples get $27,700 and head of household get $20,800.  Depending on your and your spouses situations, it is usually much better to file married filing jointly.  Being married, you can no longer file as single or head of household.  Your only other option would be to file married filing separately, which only has a $13,850 standard deduction.  You could also lose some valuable credits if you are married and don't file jointly.  

 

You will undoutedly see some changes in your return, as you include your spouse's income and withholding.  The best thing to do at this point would be to visit our TaxCaster website and utilize some of the tools, like the W-4 Calculator Withholding Estimator:

 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/lp/ppc/2541?srqs=null&cid=ppc_gg_nb_stan_all_na_Calculator-CalculatorEst...

 

Hope this helps!

Cindy

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heidis1
Expert Alumni

Getting Married

Hi lindseyhop,

In the vast majority of cases, it's best for married couples to file jointly, but there may be a few instances when it's better to submit separate returns.

Joint filers can’t file as heads of household but receive better standard deduction amounts as well as wider tax brackets. Joint filers have a standard deduction twice as large as single filers and roughly 33% larger than heads of household ($25,900 vs. $19,400 for 2022).

Here are links that can help understand:

Should You and Your Spouse File Taxes Jointly or Separately? 

Guide to Filing Taxes as Head of Household 

Hope this helps. Thanks for asking.

 

 

 

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Getting Married

We must separate the concept of "refund" from the tax return.

 

A tax return is a return of information to the IRS about your income, deductions and so on, that is used to calculate the total income tax you owe.

 

A tax refund is what you get if you paid into the system, more than you owe.  All a refund means is that you got a smaller paycheck each week and traded it for a lump sum refund.  You gave the IRS an interest-free loan.  A $2500 refund means your weekly paychecks were each $50 smaller than they might have been.  It's ok to trade a smaller paycheck for a larger refund if that works for you, but not everyone would agree.

 

Now, when you get married, we can't really tell you what will happen because we don't know all the facts.  If your spouse does not work, you will pay less income tax than before, because you will get the larger standard deduction for being married and the tax brackets are a little lower.  If you don't change your withholding, that means you will get an even larger refund, because you are having too much tax withheld compared to your lower tax owed.

 

However, if your spouse does work, then it's impossible to calculate without more information.  It is likely that you will get a smaller refund because of how the W-4 system works and the assumptions that are built into the withholding system.  

 

The best thing to do is to get a copy of the W-4 form and fill it out with your prospective spouse--follow all the instructions and worksheets on all 4 pages.  Take the answer and you each fill out new W-4s at your jobs based on the single calculation you get together.  You can give your jobs new W-4s that show you are married even before the marriage is official.  

JandKit
Employee Tax Expert

Getting Married

Hi!

I have just a comment that adds to the answer given earlier. In terms of changing your filing status from Head of Household to married filing jointly, The total income for both will be considered.

 

As the income increases, there is a corresponding increase in taxes that will be due. In most cases, credits can be reduced as well. As an example, If you had had 3 children and received the earned income credit, the credit could be as high as $6,935. IHowever, if you married and added a spouse who caused your total income to exceed $59,187, your earned income credit would be ZERO!

In most cases, the change in filing status to married would usually indicate more income and the possibility of a smaller refund.

It is the nature of ous system that the more income earned, the more taxes will be paid!

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MirthaG
Employee Tax Expert

Getting Married

You file your return based on your marital status at the end of the year. If married, you can ony file as married filing jointly or married filing separately. If you are single, you can file as single or head of household. You must have a qualifying child or dependent to claim head of household.  In your case you can only file married or married filing separately. Head of household  status  is only avaiable to single individuals that qualify for head of household.

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