Over at Bogleheads we read: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by coffeehubcap » Thu Dec 05, 2013 9:32 pm
I got married this year and we intend to file as jointly married. We both are retired and have been paying estimated tax payments on our own. Do we both continue to pay estimated tax payments then just add them together when filing our joint return?
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by sscritic » Thu Dec 05, 2013 9:51 pm
coffeehubcap wrote:Do we both continue to pay estimated tax payments
only if you want to
coffeehubcap wrote:then just add them together when filing our joint return?
yes
You should try to estimate your taxes for this year. Your married taxes won't be the sum of your two single taxes, so if your estimated payments were based on your previous single statuses, you might want to make an adjustment in your January payment(s).
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by tomd37 » Thu Dec 05, 2013 11:51 pm
Because you are now married, as of 12/31/2013, it does not mean you HAVE TO file married filing jointly. Your other choice is married filing separately. Under certain conditions MFS can be better for some couples depending on income and itemized deductions on the part of one of the couple. Remember though that if one itemizes the other MUST itemize. Likewise if one chooses to take the standard deduction the other MUST do the same.
If in doubt as to MFJ or MFS filing status, figure your taxes both ways. In the AARP Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) tax program I take a look at both ways if a particular situation might arise as to what filing status can/should be used.
Last edited by tomd37 on Fri Dec 06, 2013 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
Tom D.
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by MarkNYC » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:46 am
tomd37 wrote:Remember though that if one itemizes the other MUST itemize. Likewise if on chooses to take the standard deduction the other MUST do the same.
tom,
Both statements cannot be correct. For federal purposes, when filing "married separate", if one spouse itemizes, the other must itemize. It does not matter which spouse files first.
Oddly enough, NY State's rule is the opposite. Both must take the standard deduction unless both choose to itemize.
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by coffeehubcap » Fri Dec 06, 2013 11:57 am
Is it necessary to pay estimated tax on the dates April, June, Sep and Jan?
My plan is to have a good idea of what I owe in taxes in Dec when I take my RMD. At that point I would designate how much of my RMD should be sent in for taxes.
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by Retread » Fri Dec 06, 2013 12:10 pm
coffeehubcap wrote:Is it necessary to pay estimated tax on the dates April, June, Sep and Jan?
My plan is to have a good idea of what I owe in taxes in Dec when I take my RMD. At that point I would designate how much of my RMD should be sent in for taxes.
Yes, absolutely. That is withholding, not estimated payments and can all be done in December and is deemed paid ratably throughout the year. Many of us do just that.
Bruce
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by sscritic » Fri Dec 06, 2013 12:12 pm
coffeehubcap wrote:Is it necessary to pay estimated tax on the dates April, June, Sep and Jan?
My plan is to have a good idea of what I owe in taxes in Dec when I take my RMD. At that point I would designate how much of my RMD should be sent in for taxes.
No. You can send a check today. You will either be really late or a little early.
Withholding from a paycheck or an RMD is not a payment of estimated tax. It is withholding, a different word. Withholding is a good way to pay the IRS. It's the method I prefer. If you use your plan, you don't need to make an estimated payment in January.
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by MarkNYC » Fri Dec 06, 2013 2:50 pm
coffeehubcap wrote:I got married this year and we intend to file as jointly married. We both are retired and have been paying estimated tax payments on our own. Do we both continue to pay estimated tax payments then just add them together when filing our joint return?
Yes, you should add the estimated payments when filing the joint tax return. There is a potential problem which can be corrected fairly easily if it happens, which is this: on a joint return, the first SSN listed on the upper right of page one is treated by the IRS as the "primary SSN" for the tax return and estimated payments get posted to this SSN. So the separate estimated payments made by the spouse, using the spouse's SSN, may not get properly posted to the joint tax return. A phone call to IRS should be sufficient to correct this.
Conversely, when joint federal estimated payments are made, and the taxpayers later decide to file separately, they can choose how to allocate the estimated payment amounts between them. A statement should be attached to each tax return showing the allocation. Even with a statement attached, this can cause some matching problems for the IRS.
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by sscritic » Fri Dec 06, 2013 2:59 pm
MarkNYC wrote:Even with a statement attached, this can cause some matching problems for the IRS.
In the middle of a divorce in a community property state. I transferred money to my spouse as her share of my pension. The W-2 was addressed to me. After reading the instructions on splitting "unearned" income in a community property state four times (and changing my mind about what I had read three), I split the income, the withholding, the state withholding, etc. all in accordance with the instructions. I attached a letter and a spreadsheet showing the split and gave copies to my wife so she could file them with her return. I still got a CP2000 the next year. I sent back a longer version of my original letter and got back a "never mind."
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Re: Estimated taxes for married joint filing
by MarkNYC » Fri Dec 06, 2013 3:23 pm
sscritic wrote:
MarkNYC wrote:Even with a statement attached, this can cause some matching problems for the IRS.
In the middle of a divorce in a community property state. I transferred money to my spouse as her share of my pension. The W-2 was addressed to me. After reading the instructions on splitting "unearned" income in a community property state four times (and changing my mind about what I had read three), I split the income, the withholding, the state withholding, etc. all in accordance with the instructions. I attached a letter and a spreadsheet showing the split and gave copies to my wife so she could file them with her return. I still got a CP2000 the next year. I sent back a longer version of my original letter and got back a "never mind."
Without any inside knowledge, I believe that explanatory statements attached to income tax returns are routinely ignored by the IRS when originally processing the returns, especially with efiled returns. Nevertheless, I think an explanatory statement is a good idea for various unusual situations.
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