Marriage and Taxes

If you are getting married soon, you should be aware of some steps you can take to maximize your tax benefits. While this may not seem like an important issue when you are planning your wedding, it is a good idea to begin thinking about this process early on.


 If you are already recently married, it is not too late to examine your new tax situation as well. In either case, a close examination of your tax situation can ensure that you receive the correct refund this year.

Married couples will often need to change their addresses after marriage and this will be important for your tax return. A name change may also need to be noted on your return. You will also need to know whether you will itemize deductions, and which tax forms are right for your purposes. Your filing status will also need to be determined.

While these issues are important for tax purposes, there is no reason to delay your wedding plans if you do not have these items addressed yet. Here are some simple tips for tax season.

Your Name Matters
Using the proper name for your tax return is very important, and it is also important that you use the proper name for any of your proper social security number. For those who have changed their name due to a marriage, you must notify the Social Security Administration, you will have to submit a Form SS-5 Application for a Security Card to them, and they will issue a new social security card with your new name.

Use the Correct Address
Thousands of refund checks are returned to the IRS as undeliverable each year and in most cases this is simply because the payee of that check has moved without notifying the proper entities.
There are two public entities you will need to notify if you are changing your address. The first is the U.S. Postal Service and the next entity is the IRS. Your local post office is the best place to go to update your address information, and they will notify the IRS, but you can also update the IRS on your own by filing Form 8822.

If you find that your refund is delayed, or if you are missing a tax refund from the past, you can go to www.irs.gov/Refunds to check the status of your refund check.

Change Your Filing Status
Married couples can file their taxes jointly or separately in any tax year. Your marital status for a tax year is dependent on whether you were married or single on December 31 of any given year. If you were married as of the last day of the year, you need to determine whether to file jointly or separately.

Married couples who file jointly will combine their incomes, deductions and expenses on a single tax return, and both the husband and wife will need to sign the same tax return documents.

For couples who decide to file separately, each spouse will file their own tax return and claim their own deductions or credits on their tax return. Even though each return is separate, it is important to remember that if one spouse files their tax return with itemized deductions, the other must file their tax return the same way.

If you have questions about your marital tax issues, you may want to contact a tax professional tax so give us a call at iRefund today. Our friendly staff is available to help with your questions, and our professionals can provide you will all the advice you need to ensure that you are getting the most out of your tax return this year