Just Married

[kgarrett555]

My husband and I just got married last month. We make approximately the same amount of money and each have some student loan debt. Is it more advantageous for us to file jointly or separately?

[mbpeddie]

Congratulations on your marriage!

To answer your question as to whether it is more advantageous to file married filing joint or married filing separate, while generally it is more advantageous as married filing jointly has a higher tax rate, especially if one has a higher income, there are circumstances when it may be more beneficial to file separately as in your case when you have similar incomes and also have student loan repayments.

If your student loan repayments are based on each persons income, married filing separate my make the payments more manageable. However the downside to this is that interest on student loan payments is not deductable if you file married separate.

The best way to determine which method is best for you is to prepare 2 married filing separate returns and compare to married filing joint.

[mbpeddie]

To clarify, Married filing separately has a higher tax rate than married filing joint and there are disadvantages to married filing separately as certain deductions such as the student loan interest. If you are interested in how it would affect your student loan repayments, married filing separate may affect that.

Here is a link with more information on Married filing joint vs married filing separate:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/should-you-and-your-spouse-file-taxes-jointly-or-separ...

[xmasbaby0]

If you were legally married at the end of 2024 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $29,200 (+$1500 for each spouse 65 or older)  for 2024. You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit. 

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return.

 Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

 If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice since with online, you get one return per fee.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...