Hello,
I got married in August 2009. I am living & working in Virginia & my husband lives/works in North Carolina. We have our separate apartments & expenses. After marriage I bought a car for him (the car loan is on my name but he is making the monthly payments) . Since this is the first year we will be filing together, I need advice.

Can we file jointly?
Does showing our separate expenses, plus the new car earn us any returns?

When he filed last year he owed IRS money, whereas I got some money back. Not sure if getting married would actually get us anything back from IRS.

I would really appreciate your response.

1. Yes - you can file jointly for your federal return. This will probably save you money compared to filing as Married Filing Separately. But if you want to double check, you can always go through the exercise of calculating your taxes both ways and see which works out best for you.

2. The credit for new car purchase and/or sales tax deduction for it depends on factors such as your adjusted gross income, but the fact that you live in separate states is immaterial.

You didn't ask about how to file in VA and NC - be aware that since you live and work in different states, you can file as married filing separate on your state returns even though you file jointly for the federal return - this way you avoid paying taxes to NC and he avoids paying taxes to VA.