For example, if your son and his spouse
file a joint return because one or both of them had money withheld from their paychecks, but did not make enough to be required to file a return or owe any income taxes, you could still claim your son — and even his wife — if they meet all the other tests.
Not exact matches
Because of preferential tax brackets that apply to the married
filing jointly status, couples who
file a
joint return will oftentimes pay less income tax in comparison to
filing separately.
However, the GA
return was $ 130 off
because they calculated my tax from the Married
filing separate
return column instead of the Married
filing joint column.
If you can't
file a
joint return for the year
because you're divorced by year - end, you can
file as a head of household (and get the benefit of a bigger standard deduction and gentler tax brackets), if you had a dependent living with you for more than half the year, and you paid for more than half of the upkeep for your home.
Thus, this couple might save taxes by
filing separately,
because one spouse's big medical expenses might be deductible on a separately
filed return but could be reduced, or even eliminated, on a
joint return.
Because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same - sex unions and marriages are not recognized for federal purposes, so gay couples have to
file their federal
returns as either single or head of household, and then create a mock
joint return to prepare the state
return.
This is
because those who claim tax
returns jointly are not likely to save much money upon doing so and the entire process of
filing a
joint return might prove to have been done in vain.
In tax year 2013, the eligible dependency exemption is $ 3,900 unless a taxpayer is subject to Alternative Minimum Tax; or the deduction is reduced
because his / her adjusted gross income exceeds $ 300,000 on a
joint return, $ 275,000 on a HH
return, $ 250,000 on a single
return, or $ 150,000 on a married
filing single
return.