Separately vs. Jointly

[scarlett09]

So it's that time of year - tax time. We don't have W-2s yet, but I'm trying to decide if we should file separately or jointly. We have pretty uncomplicated taxes, so we use H&R Block's Basic software to do our taxes every year. I tried reading up on the H&R Block website about it; I thought I knew which way to file, but now I am even more confused.

DH makes a resident's salary. I did not work in 2010, so I have no income. But I was a part-time graduate student with student loans, so I know I can apply for American Opportunity Credit (AOC) and claim my student loan interest. We have meager savings and no investments. We rent and will not be itemizing our taxes.

Apparently married filing jointly (MFJ) will allow me to qualify for the AOC, as it is not available if you go with married filing separately (MFS). However, the MFS would allow DH to claim me as an exemption since I had no income. Which one to choose?

Should I sit down and run each scenario? I tried doing that, although I don't have W-2s or 1098s yet. Obviously, we would get a big refund when MFJ, and I would get 0 when MFS. But would it increase DH's tax return to claim me as an exemption? I mean, even though it is his tax return, it is our money.

See a tax professional? I didn't think I would have to do that, since our taxes are very uncomplicated. Could we go and see someone without all of our forms and just ask basic questions? Once we get our papers by the end of January, we would file ASAP, that way we can have the refund in hand before our trip in February.

TIA!

BTW, this is the info H&R Block gave me on the subject, which led to more confusion: http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_tip...title=Marriage

[HouseofWool]

I would wait until you get the forms and then run both senarios with the software. Which ever nets the bigger overall return wins.

[diggitydot]

Run both scenarios through the software. You can usually save your entire return and just edit the individual sections as necessary.

I hate tax software with a passion. They're cumbersome, difficult to navigate, and not terribly helpful with instructions for atypical filers. And I'm ALWAYS the one who does our taxes. I usually run our stuff through a couple different programs before deciding which one to file. Usually, it's whichever one I can get through without drinking heavily or yanking out all my own hair. I think I typically end up using TaxAct.

[Vanquisher]

I like Turbo Tax. I think it is the easiest and most helpful.

[oceanchild]

Sounds like running both scenarios is probably a good idea. FWIW, we file jointly. We both make about the same amount of money.

[Bittersweet]

I agree that you should probaby run both scenarios. Although be on the lookout for factors that may be missed by the software. For example, we're filing separately because DH's school loans don't qualify for income based repayment based on our combined income. We'd always filed jointly before. Just something else to consider.