Important tips to save on taxes when your marital status changes.Like what you hear? Help us out by writing a review at iTunes. Questions go to money@qdnow.com. Thank you!
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142 MG Newlywed or Newly-Divorced?
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Phones would be a 24-monthly bill credit for well-qualified customers, contact us before canceling entire account to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on a required finance agreement too. Bill credits end if you pay off devices early, ctmobile.com. Hello and welcome to MoneyGirl's quick and dirty tips for a richer life. I'm your host, Laura Adams. In all the excitement of a wedding or sorrow of a divorce or death of a spouse, it's easy to forget about tax issues that need to be addressed. In this show, I'll give you tax tips for what to do in your marital status changes. One of the first things to remember once you get back from the honeymoon is to notify the Social Security Administration if you plan to change your name. Your tax return must match the name you've registered with the Social Security Administration in order to avoid problems. You also will need to get an updated Social Security card with your new name. Simply submit Form SS5, the application for a Social Security card, and allow yourself at least two weeks for the change to go into effect. You can find more information at www.socialsecurity.gov. If you have a new address, notify the U.S. Postal Service as soon as possible so your mail delivery won't be interrupted. The post office sends your new information to the IRS. However, I also recommend that you notify the IRS directly about your address change using Form 8822, especially if you're expecting a tax refund. It's important to decide which tax filing status you're going to use for the year in which your marital status changes. Your filing status is important because it determines the amount of tax you have to pay. It affects the amount of your standard tax deduction and whether you're eligible to claim certain tax deductions and credits. Your marital status on December 31 determines whether you can consider yourself married for that entire tax year. However, if your spouse died during the year, you're still considered married for the entire year for income tax purposes. There are five different filing statuses for tax payers. Number one, single. Number two, married filing jointly. Number three, married filing separately. Number four, head of household. And five, qualifying widow or widower with dependent child. You must choose one status for each tax year, so always choose the one that results in the least amount of tax. There's a brief description of each one. Single status applies if on the last day of the year you were unmarried or were legally separated or divorced from your spouse. If you'll claim a dependent, check to see if head of household status may save you more in taxes. Married filing jointly status applies if on the last day of the year you were legally married and is one of two options for married people. Filing a joint return allows spouses to combine income, exemptions, and allowable deductions on one tax return. It gives you more tax benefits and usually results in lower taxes than filing separately. Married filing separately status applies if on the last day of the year you were legally married and is your second option if you're married. It generally offers the least beneficial tax treatment but may be necessary if one spouse doesn't agree with the other about taxes. For instance, one wants to file taxes but the other wants to skirt the law. For one spouse doesn't want to take joint responsibility for the other's tax messes. Even if you file separately, you still have to coordinate with your spouse on a couple issues. If you have dependents, you'll have to decide who gets to claim them. And if one spouse itemizes deductions, the other must also itemize. September is a great month for planning. 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It's about performing under pressure and lasting through the toughest jobs. Head over to Dickies.com and use the promo code Workware20 at checkout to save 20% on your purchase. It's the perfect time to experience the quality and reliability that has made Dickies a trusted name for over a century. Head of household status applies if you're considered unmarried on the last day of the year, paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home, and had a qualifying dependent live with you for more than half the year. This status gives you more tax benefit than filing as a single-tax payer or as a married person filing separately. But not every single parent qualifies for this status. I'll put a link to IRS Publication 501 in the show notes at moneygirl.quickendertietips.com for more details. Qualifying widow or widower with dependent child status applies if you're unmarried due to the death of your spouse within the last two years, and you've cared for a dependent all year. After two years, if you remain unmarried, your filing status must change to either single or head of household. Your marital status affects your income tax withholding, so be sure to complete a new form W4, the employee's withholding allowance certificate, for your employer. You can use the IRS withholding calculator at irs.gov to help you figure the right amount. If you and your spouse both work, that could bump you up to a higher tax bracket. Or if you're now filing as single or head of household, your tax rate may be lower. Submitting a revised W4 will make sure that you don't have too much or too little taxes withheld throughout the year. The W4 also notifies your employer about any name or address changes that they need to know to update your employment records. That will ensure that you receive your wage and tax statement in the mail after the end of the year. Thanks to everyone who subscribed to the show in iTunes. That's the easiest way to get each new episode as soon as it's released. And if you haven't posted a review in iTunes yet, I'd really appreciate you taking a moment to help other listeners by doing that. Remember that in the Money Girl section at quickanddirtytips.com, you can get my email address, voicemail number, linked to my Facebook and Twitter pages, plus take a listener survey and get the code to put a cool money girl widget on your blog or website. I'm glad you're listening. Ching. That's all for now. Courtesy of Money Girl, your guide to our richer life. Imagine earning a degree that prepares you with real skills for the real world. Capella University's programs teach skills relevant to your career so you can apply what you learn right away. Learn how Capella can make a difference in your life at Capella.edu. Life can throw a lot your way in the morning. You might be battling drop-off times while your kids are battling imaginary monsters or at their shoelaces. 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