[sungodasp]

I am married filing jointly(HOH), and we have 3 children. We made 115K and paid about 20K in taxes. We also bought a house in October that we put some $ down on and paid some interest and or taxes on. What should my return be without taking into consideration any additional credits from our home? Thanks:confused:

[MukatA]

First you must decide your filing status. You can file as Married Filing Jointly, but then you are not HOH.

If you did not live with your spouse for last 6 months, maintained a separate house, paid more than half of maintaining the house, and have a dependent, only then you can file as Head of Household.

If you file as MFJ and the total income is $115k, then your federal tax is $12,973. You will get $1,000 as child tax credit for each eligible child.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Assuming that you are filing MFJ, the interest and taxes accrued since October 2007 may NOT be high enough to exceed the $10,700 standard deduction.

In other words, the mortgage interest and tax payments for those three months were essentially wasted.

Your taxable income, after FIVE exemptions and the $10,700 standard deuction, is $87,300. Tax at MFJ rate is $14,679. Assuming your children are all age 16 or less, you will get $3,000 in Child Tax Credits, so your actual tax owed is $11,679, and your refund will be ablout $8,300.

[MukatA]

Yes, AtantaTaxExpert's tax calculation is correct.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Noted!