Due to the complexity of your financial status there are four options to be chosen from regarding filing status. You may elect to remain married filing separate with Michael. This option would not change the landscape of the tax plan from previous years, leaving you with a tax liability of $10,438. The next tax option implies that you divorce Michael and become a Head of Household tax payer. Filing as Head of Household holds distinct advantages over filing married filing separately. There are deductions available for those filing Head of Household that cannot be claimed under married filing separately. For example, a taxpayer filing under married filing separately cannot claim a tuition credit. Thus, a taxpayer filing separately will have …show more content…
If this were the case, you could be stuck paying a higher marginal tax rate without the benefits from Henry’s additional income provided. The election to stay with Michael and file joint allows for the lowest percentage of total income taxed.
Since the percentage of income taxed is roughly six percent when filing joint with Michael; there will be more disposable income available compared to filing separately or electing Head of Household. Although filing joint with Michael is the best tax plan, the most disposable income stems from the election to marry Henry and file a joint return with him. The amount of itemized deductions available depends on which filing status is elected. This is because of the variations presented within each financial profile for each type of return possible. The largest amount of itemized deductions is from the Married filing separate election due to being the only source of income available. The least amount of itemized deductions allowed is from the election to file a joint return with Henry. This is due to being taxed at a higher marginal rate along with Henry not providing substantial itemized deductions of his own.
The amount of income taxed can greatly depend on the filing status elected; However, there are many actions that can be taken throughout the year that will help lower tax liability and increase disposable income regardless of the filing status selected. The limit for an IRA contribution in 2017 is $5,500 for a
The last option that Warren explained was rationalization of the relationships between two tax bases such as income and social security taxes, state and federal taxes, and federal corporate and individual income taxes. “Integration of the corporate and individual income taxes has come to mean eliminating the double burden of the corporate and individual income taxes, where it exists, and substituting a system in which investor and corporate taxes are interrelated in a manner that eliminates or reduces the foregoing distortions. The goal is to produce a uniform levy on capital income, whether earned through corporate enterprise or not” (Warren 9).
John and Janet Baker are husband and wife and maintain a household of 7, including Janet and John. Calvin and Florence Carter are Janet’s parents, who are retired. During the year, they received $19,000 in nontaxable funds (disability income, interest on municipal bonds and Social Security benefits) from which $8,000 was equally spent between them on clothing, transportation, and recreation. The remaining $11,000 was invested in tax-exempt securities. Janet Baker paid $1,000 for her mother’s dental work and $1,200 premium on her father’s own life insurance policy. Janet’s father,
The single student could use the 1040EZ form. That form is meant for someone who has an uncomplicated tax return to file. The student who is married should use the 1040A form because they do not
Spouse A and B may only choose from the married filing jointly or married filing separately statuses. Under married filing separately the spouses would start accruing taxes against their income sooner. For example under married filing separately a spouse would only be able to earn $8,925.00 of taxable income before they would be progressed to the next tier of the income tax bracket. Under married filing jointly the spouses could earn $17,850.00 of taxable income before they would be progressed to the next tax bracket. These figures were based on the IRS income tax guidelines for the year 2013. (Phillips Erb). They will qualify for 2
Married Filing Jointly would be the most beneficial for this couple because it will allow them to stay at a lower tax bracket and also qualify to take a higher standard deduction and higher deduction on the sale of their home than they would as individuals.
The filing statuses available to the taxpayer couple are married filing jointly, and married filing separately. The best filing status for Spouse A and B is married; filing jointly. Both spouse A and B have separate income for the year and so could file separate returns but they would also have to file at a higher tax rate schedule because their income is not combined. They would be required to claim any exemptions, deductions, and credits available separately. The couple is also precluded from filing a dependent twice so if A were to file for one of their 3 dependents then B could not claim
The reason that using the married filing jointly status is more advantageous for the couple is that taxes will be lower than if they filed as married filing separately. Filing jointly provides more tax benefits and the tax rate is generally lower.
From a tax planning perspective, more details would have to be known about the Ouray’s expenses in order to determine the best course of action. To address the original question of ability to file head-of-household, Brett is unable to, because he is still married and living in same household as his
The tax policy in the United States is very confusing. When the tax policy was originally written in 1913 it was four hundred pages. Now, over the past ninety one years, that tax policy has evolved to over 72,000 pages. Since the tax code has become so lengthy and nearly impossible to understand, the topic of tax reform has been in the minds of many. Although, most barely think about tax reform until tax season. It is a controversial subject due to the impact a change in tax code would have on the American people. The two most popular and widely known stakeholders in this debate are the two major political parties in the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans. The two parties share absolutely no common ground on the subject of
A. Filing Status: There are two choices of filing status available to this taxpayer couple, married filing separately and married filing jointly. For this taxpayer couple the recommended filing status is married filing jointly. The tax rates would be higher if they filed separately. Additionally, some deductions (e.g. tuition and student loan interest), credits (e.g. Earned Income Credit) and exclusions would not be allowed if they filed separately. Since they sold a personal residence during this tax year, they will be able to exclude up to $500,000 profit from the sales as joint filers rather than only up to $250,000 if filing separately. There will be 2 qualified personal exemptions and 3 exemptions for the 3
A flat tax system in the United States by definition refers to taxing household incomes at the same rate regardless of income levels. Advocates of a flat tax system argue that it will simplify U.S. tax codes and eliminate other taxes. Opponents of a flat tax system argue that it only benefits wealthy individuals and would eliminate the IRS causing wide-spread unemployment. Here are some of the pros and cons of a flat tax system.
41. Demarco and Janine Jackson have been married for 20 years and have four children who qualify as their dependents. Their income from all sources this year (2009) totaled $200,000 and included a gain from the sale of their
We have all heard the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin who stated, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” (“Benjamin Franklin Quotes”) We find this to be true as we begin working and feel the pain of money being taken from our paychecks. Then we face the chore of having to file income taxes yearly. Although there are many taxes we are subject to, most people are referring to federal income tax when they complain about taxes. There has been debate for decades about the current system but there has been no agreement on how to fix it. The United States currently has a progressive tax code which means people pay taxes according to their earnings. This has been in place since the time of Abraham Lincoln. An alternative
In addition to economic issues, taxation is also a political issue. Political leaders formulate tax policies to bring reforms in the taxation system in order to promote their agendas. The major tax reforms include: increasing or decreasing the tax rate, imposing new taxes on certain products and changing the definition of taxable income. It is evident from the research studies that no one deliberately wants to pay taxes. U.S’ tax policy reflects expression of influence - i.e., those who have power are successful in paying low taxes and their burden is shifted to people who have no power. Therefore retired individuals, small business owners and farmers find ways efforts to reduce their tax burden. Since its existence, tax policy has been enormously used for promoting political and economic agendas.
We’ve done a lot of exercises on how to figure income tax for individuals, partnerships, and businesses. Like for example for partnerships, Spouses who own a qualified entity in