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apappillion
Jan 28, 2010, 02:00 AM
I was wondering how do me and my husband file your taxses when he's the only one that works? We have a baby girl that was born in 2009 too. So my question is when we file do we file together as married, and he puts me and our daughter as a dependent? Or do we file as married an just put our daughter as the dependent?

MukatA
Jan 28, 2010, 05:12 AM
You can file as married filing jointly (MFJ) or married filing separately (MFS). In most cases, it is better to file as MFJ. On the joint return your standard deduction is $11,400 and you get two exemptions.

If you file MFS, you will not get many credits and deductions including EIC.

On the joint return the liabilities are joint. If one spouse owes tax, both spouses are equally responsible. You may file Form 8379 with joint return.

This is from IRS publication 17: Your Federal Income Tax.
Tip. If you and your spouse each have income, you may want to figure your tax both on a joint return and on separate returns (using the filing status of married filing separately). Choose the method that gives the two of you the lower combined tax. Your U.S. Tax Return: Filing Status for Married (http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/02/filing-status-for-married.html)