Tax Planning is a Part of Pre-Marital Counseling

I know taxes are not high on the list of most romantic subjects, but when you and your sweetie are thinking about tying the knot you should definitely consider the tax consequences. So, be sure to add tax planning to your wedding to do list.

I have found that many taxpayers do not realize that when you get married, (no matter what date) you are now required to file a married return. I know there are tax preparers out there that will tell you otherwise but I am not one of those. The tax code says a taxpayer’s marital status on the last day of the year determines their filing status for the entire year. Therefore, whether you get married in June or December, you still have to file a married tax return for that tax year. (The same holds true if you get a divorce.) Remember your filing status for tax purposes is determined by your marital status on the last day of the year.

We at By The Book Accounting we do your taxes the legal way. If you want your taxes done “right” give us a call. All others need not apply.

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Tags: filing status, tax planning, Taxes, wedding planning

This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 6:46 pm and is filed under Taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Alicia Franklin

Hi Bernadette,

This article has come at the right time for me. My fiance' and I are planning to wedd in late August of this year. What I am concerned about is filing for next year. I only make about $31K per year and he makes right around $100K and he owes taxes every year after he files. I am concerned that I will inherit that tax debt as well. Could you please provide some advice/tips on reducing our tax bill for next year. If he owes, do I owe as well?

Thanks,

A. Franklin

Bernadette

I'm so glad you found this article informative. Yes, there's a way to keep it separately. It's called an injured spouse form. This will protect your portion of the refund from his tax debt.