Dual income, no kids, no house. Any tax breaks for us we don't know about ?

It%26#039;s the good old marriage penalty. Me and my spouse always rec%26#039;d both federal and state tax refunds when we were single, but ever since we got married we owe every single year. We don%26#039;t have any kids to use as a tax credit, nor do we yet own a house, so no tax break there. We both make decent money. So, besides the standard deductions called out for on the tax forms, are there any other possible tax credits or deductions available to us ? We aren%26#039;t really interested in spending hundreds of dollars to go see a tax guy.

Dual income, no kids, no house. Any tax breaks for us we don%26#039;t know about ?

People call it a marriage penalty, but it really isn%26#039;t. You end up paying the same tax, but as a married couple, you bring home more in your paycheck because your withholdings are dropped from the single rate to the married rate. If you don%26#039;t want to owe (like you did when you were single), make sure your withholdings are set to the married, but withhold at the higher single rate. If you both do this, then you will see that you will get a refund next year.

As for deductions you don%26#039;t know about, make sure you have contributed to an IRA or 401K plan. Otherwise there isn%26#039;t much.

Dual income, no kids, no house. Any tax breaks for us we don%26#039;t know about ?

You would be well served by contacting a financial adviser.

Are you depositing the maximum allowable in your IRA%26#039;s?

Contacting a professional will be money well spent.

good luck

Dual income, no kids, no house. Any tax breaks for us we don%26#039;t know about ?

IRAs, charitable contributions, business expenses, medical expenses,

Dual income, no kids, no house. Any tax breaks for us we don%26#039;t know about ?

cant you and your wife claim IRA of 4000 each?

Dual income, no kids, no house. Any tax breaks for us we don%26#039;t know about ?

If you have no children or house, your taxes as single and married filing separate are identical, except for deductibility of IRAs.

If you are penalized filing jointly, by all means file separately and itemize like you did before. It may be in your case separate returns are better for you.

Otherwise, max out the retirement accounts, buy a nice house with a mortgage, start a sole proprietor business, buy rental property, invest for capital gains.

Dual income, no kids, no house. Any tax breaks for us we don%26#039;t know about ?

If you%26#039;re paying on student loans, you can get a deduction for some or all of the interest.

And I don%26#039;t know what you mean by %26quot;decent money%26quot;, but the tax rates for married filing separately are the same as single rates only up to $61,850, and after that, married filing separately pays more than single.

But be sure you%26#039;re looking at your total tax, not just your refund, when you say you%26#039;re paying a marriage penalty. Your refund is just how much you overpaid - if you%26#039;re having less taken out but paying the same, you might be ending up paying rather than getting a refund.