My wife and I just went through this exact situation! We both made around $60k and I was previously HOH with our daughter. Our refund dropped by over $4k after getting married. Here's what we did: 1) Adjusted our W-4s so we weren't getting a big refund but also not owing at tax time. A big refund just means you overpaid throughout the year anyway. 2) Maxed out our 401k contributions which lowered our taxable income and moved us to a lower tax bracket. 3) Started using an HSA (Health Savings Account) which is triple tax advantaged and reduced our taxable income even more. Don't just look at the refund amount. Look at your total tax paid vs total income. That's the real measure of whether you're coming out ahead.

I went through this exact same shock when my husband and I got married! We both earned around $70k and I was filing HOH with my son. Our first year married filing jointly was such a wake-up call. One thing that really helped us was realizing that the "marriage penalty" isn't necessarily permanent - it's more about tax planning strategies. We ended up: 1) Contributing more to our retirement accounts to lower our combined taxable income 2) Looking into whether married filing separately might work better for us in specific years (though you lose some credits this way) 3) Timing certain deductions and expenses strategically The other reality check for us was that even though our refund was smaller, we were still paying less in total taxes than we would have as two single people once we factored in things like lower health insurance premiums through spouse coverage and other married benefits. It's frustrating that the tax code penalizes dual-income couples like this, but there are ways to work around it. Definitely run the numbers both ways (MFJ vs MFS) each year to see what works best for your situation!

I think everyone is overlooking something important - how are you determining that exactly 50% of your house is being used for rental? The IRS typically wants to see an objective measurement based on square footage, not just a rough estimate. If you're only renting out one bedroom but claiming 50% of the house, you might face questions in an audit. Make sure you're including common areas in your calculation proportionally. For example, if the bedroom is 200 sq ft in a 2000 sq ft house, but the tenant also has access to 800 sq ft of common areas (kitchen, living room, etc.), you might reasonably allocate 400 sq ft to the rental (200 sq ft bedroom + half of the common areas they have access to = 400 sq ft). That would be 20% of your house, not 50%.

This is exactly the kind of confusion I had when I first started renting out part of my home! The key insight that helped me was understanding that you're essentially running two separate "businesses" - your personal residence and your rental property - that happen to share the same physical structure. Here's what I learned: When you allocate 50% of your mortgage interest to Schedule E (rental), that portion is completely separate from personal itemized deductions and isn't subject to the $750k mortgage interest limitation at all. It's a business expense, just like if you owned a separate rental property. The remaining 50% that you're claiming on Schedule A is treated as personal mortgage interest, and that's where the $750k limit applies. But here's the crucial part - the limit applies to the dollar amount of the mortgage principal allocated to personal use, not your total mortgage. So if your total mortgage is $1.4 million but you're only using 50% for personal residence ($700k), you're still under the $750k cap for personal use. That's why the tax software is letting you deduct the full $21,000 remaining after your rental allocation. Your approach sounds correct, but definitely make sure you have solid documentation for your 50% allocation method. Square footage measurements are your best friend if you ever get audited!

Honestly all the chains are expensive imo. H&R Block charged me $320 last year for what I later found out was a pretty basic return. Try looking for an "enrolled agent" in your area - they're tax specialists who usually charge way less than CPAs or the big chains.

Great suggestions everyone! I'm definitely going to look into both the enrolled agent route and credit union options - hadn't considered either of those before posting. For anyone else reading this thread, I ended up calling around to a few places after reading these comments. What I found was that the chains really do vary a lot in pricing even within the same company - the H&R Block near my work quoted me $280 while one across town said $195 for basically the same services. Location seems to matter more than I expected. Also wanted to mention that several of the independent preparers I contacted were willing to give me a rough estimate over the phone once I described my situation (investment income, job change, etc.), which was way more helpful than the chains that just gave generic "starting at $X" pricing. Definitely worth making a few calls before deciding!

Just wanted to add something about in-game purchases that I learned the hard way after an audit. The IRS looks at whether the expense is "ordinary and necessary" for your business. My tax person advised me to keep a content log that shows: 1. What specific in-game item I purchased 2. Date purchased 3. Cost 4. What content I created using that item 5. How it contributed to my business (viewer engagement, subscriber growth, etc) For my Star Wars Battlefront streams, I was able to successfully deduct character skins because I could show specific streams where I featured them and the viewer engagement they generated. But random purchases I couldn't connect to specific content were disallowed.

Great question! As a small business streamer myself, I've navigated these same deduction questions. Here's what I've learned: For streaming equipment, you're generally in good shape - microphones, cameras, lighting, capture cards, and even a portion of your gaming PC (if used primarily for streaming) are typically deductible business expenses. Keep all receipts and document how each item directly supports your streaming business. The in-game purchases like your Star Citizen ships are definitely in a gray area, but they can be deductible if you can demonstrate they're "ordinary and necessary" for your content creation. The key is documentation - keep a log showing which purchases were featured in specific streams, how they contributed to viewer engagement, and any measurable business impact (subscriber growth, increased viewership, etc.). Other deductions to consider: portion of your internet bill, streaming software subscriptions (OBS plugins, Streamlabs, etc.), music licensing, website hosting costs, and if you have a dedicated streaming space that's used exclusively for business, you might qualify for the home office deduction. Pro tip: Start keeping detailed records now. Create a simple spreadsheet tracking all business-related purchases with dates, amounts, and business justification. This documentation will be invaluable if you're ever audited and will make tax filing much smoother. The fact that you're asking these questions shows you're taking the right approach - being proactive about proper record-keeping and legitimate deductions!

Has anyone compared FreeTaxUSA vs TaxHawk for 2024? I know they're owned by the same company but sometimes their features differ slightly.

Thanks for the heads up! I've been procrastinating on getting my tax stuff organized, so having FreeTaxUSA available early is perfect timing. I switched to them two years ago after getting fed up with TurboTax's pricing and haven't looked back. One thing I love about being able to access it this early is that I can play around with different scenarios - like seeing how much extra I might owe if I do some Roth conversions before year-end, or what my refund would look like if I max out my HSA contributions. Really helps with year-end tax planning instead of just scrambling to file in February. Has anyone noticed if they've added any new features for 2024, or is it pretty much the same interface as last year?