Will getting married help or hurt my tax refund?

I am 21 years old and want to marry my 20 year old fiance. I make 16,000 a year and he makes 13,000. Will getting married before Dec. 31 this year make us pay more for taxes or should I wait? I always get a refund check. Is there a tax break for getting married?Will getting married help or hurt my tax refund?
Assuming there are no children involved in this situation, and your parents can't claim you as dependents, it probably won't make much difference.





If you don't get married, you'll each get to reduce your income by $5700 for the standard deduction and $3650 for your personal exemption. ($9350 total per person). Your taxable income will be about $6650 which will be subject to 10% tax, so you'll pay about $665 and have everything else refunded to you. His taxable income will be about $3650 at 10% for a total tax of about $365. Altogether you'd pay about $1030 in federal income taxes.





If you get married and file a joint return, you get double the standard deduction, you claim personal exemptions for both of you, and the 10% tax bracket is twice as big. So you'll have a combined income of $29,000. You'll subtract $11400 for the standard deduction and $7300 for 2 personal exemptions and have a taxable income of about $10300, at 10% so you're total taxes would be about $1030.





MAGIC!!





Getting married is typically more beneficial to couples where one spouse makes significantly more money than the other spouse. You guys are pretty close and are both in the 10% tax bracket so it won't really matter.Will getting married help or hurt my tax refund?
Tax Lady ran some numbers for you. Without children or unusual medical expenses, at your income level, your taxes will be about the same regardless of whether you file as Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or Married Filing Separately (MFS).





If you don't get married, you would both file as Single. Your tax bill would be $265 after tax credits, and your fiance would be due a $35 refund. In both cases, if either of you have any federal taxes withheld, they would be applied to the amounts. In other words, if you have have $500 withheld, then you would have an overpayment of $235. If your fiance has $300 withheld, then his overpayment would be $335.





The net tax of $230 is you don't marry and each file as Single is the same as your joint tax bill would be if you did get married and filed as either MFS or MFJ.





Overall, you will save money if you get married. How you ask? Your taxes would be the same, but if you file a joint return, you will only pay for one tax return to be prepared, not two.





Because you didn't mention your state, I ignored that issue. There may be a small difference because of the state taxes.





Summary: Don't use taxes to decide when you get married.





Short lecture: You and your fiance should consider college or a trade education. Your income is very low for 2009. The last time I made that little (other than when I went back to school for a Master's degree) was in the mid-1980s when I lived in central Pennsylvania.





Good luck to you both.


Gary
If you have no children, just file.


You will pay the same total wither you file MFJ or MFS (there is no single once you get married).





MFS


16000 - 9350 = $6650 or $665 in tax ($265 this year).


13000 - 9350 = $3650 or $365 in tax ($35 refundable credit).


Or total tax $230.





MFJ


29000 - 18700 = 10,300 or 1030 in tax less 800 = $230.
Dear Mac: Go to H%26amp;R Block.com and try their free calculator to see which is best. Do yours by itself, his alone and then do a combined MFJ. You will need the numbers off your current pay stub to project the annual numbers.





This advice was prepared based on our understanding of the tax law in effect at the time it was written as it applies to the facts that you provided. Click on my profile to read more. Errol Quinn Enrolled Agent