First Time Filing Married - How Do Married Couples Handle Their Taxes?

Hey tax folks! So I just got married in June and this will be our first time filing our taxes as a married couple. We're completely clueless about how this works. Do we combine all our W-2s on one return? Do we still file separately even though we're married? My wife made about $62K last year and I made around $58K. We both had taxes withheld from our paychecks. We bought a house together in August if that matters for deductions. Neither of us has ever itemized before - just always took the standard deduction. Are there any marriage tax benefits we should know about? We're both pretty anxious about messing something up since it's our first time filing as a couple. Any advice would be super appreciated!!

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18 comments

CosmosCaptain

•8M

You have a few options as a newly married couple! The most important thing to know is that when you're married, your filing status options are either "Married Filing Jointly" or "Married Filing Separately" - but most couples benefit from filing jointly. With joint filing, you'll combine all your income, deductions, and credits on a single tax return. This usually results in a lower total tax bill than filing separately. Since you mentioned buying a house, filing jointly gives you a higher standard deduction ($27,700 for 2024 for married couples vs $13,850 for single filers), and you can combine your mortgage interest and property tax deductions if you choose to itemize. For most couples in your situation, filing jointly makes the most sense financially. The "marriage penalty" that used to hit some couples mostly affects those in higher tax brackets now, and many couples actually get a "marriage bonus" when one spouse earns significantly more than the other.

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CosmosCaptain

•8M

Yes, with married filing jointly, you'll submit just one tax return that includes both of your information. Both spouses need to sign the return - this is required whether you e-file or mail a paper return. You should update your W-4 forms with your employers to reflect your married status. This helps ensure the proper amount of tax is withheld from your paychecks throughout the year. Many newly married couples forget this step and end up with incorrect withholding. You can both select "Married" on your W-4s, but you might want to use the IRS withholding estimator online to make sure you're having enough withheld based on your combined incomes.

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Freya Johansen

•8M

Hey there, I was in your exact position last year - first time filing after getting married and completely confused! After doing some research and getting nowhere, I decided to try taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to help figure out all the marriage tax questions. It was seriously helpful - I uploaded our W-2s and previous returns, and it explained exactly how to file jointly and identified deductions we wouldn't have known about otherwise. The system broke down our mortgage interest deduction options and showed us why filing jointly would save us about $1,800 compared to filing separately in our situation. It also flagged that we were eligible for an energy credit from some windows we replaced that we had no idea about!

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Freya Johansen

•8M

It actually guides you through what documents you need based on your situation. When I mentioned we had side income, it specifically asked for 1099 forms and explained how to handle business expenses. It was much more intuitive than trying to follow generic advice online. As for cost comparison, I found it really reasonable considering the personalized guidance. It handled both federal and state taxes, which was great because our state has some specific deductions for new homeowners that differ from the federal rules. Definitely felt more comprehensive than the basic tax software I used in previous years.

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Omar Fawzi

•8M

Just wanted to update here - I decided to try taxr.ai after posting my question and I'm really glad I did! My husband and I had a complicated situation with W-2s from multiple employers (I changed jobs mid-year), 1099 income from our side hustles, and student loan interest. The system detected that we would actually benefit more from filing separately because of my income-based student loan repayment plan - something I had no idea about! Apparently filing jointly would have raised my calculated income and increased my monthly payments. It saved us over $2,000 for the year! Super grateful for the recommendation here.

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Diego Mendoza

•8M

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're having trouble getting answers from the IRS about married filing questions (and trust me, their phone lines are IMPOSSIBLE this time of year), I've had amazing success using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). You can check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I spent two weeks trying to get through to the IRS because my wife and I had a unique situation with her being a non-resident alien for part of the year. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. The agent was able to confirm exactly how to file and which forms we needed.

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Diego Mendoza

•8M

It's not calling for you - they use technology to navigate the IRS phone system and hold your place in line. When they reach an agent, you get a call to connect you directly. It's basically like having someone wait on hold for you. I was skeptical too initially. But it's legitimate - they don't ask for any personal tax info and they don't talk to the IRS for you. They just handle the frustrating hold time part. I had been trying to get through for almost two weeks on my own before using it, calling at different times of day and everything. Got through in under 20 minutes with their service.

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StellarSurfer

•8M

Ok I'm eating crow here. After posting my skeptical comment I was desperate enough to try Claimyr since I was getting nowhere with the IRS on my own. Not gonna lie, I was SHOCKED when I actually got connected to an IRS agent in about 25 minutes when I'd been trying unsuccessfully for nearly 3 weeks. The agent was able to resolve my identity verification issue that was holding up both mine and my husband's refund (we filed jointly for the first time this year). Our refund was released within 48 hours after that call. Would have been waiting who knows how long otherwise. Never been happier to be wrong about something.

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Sean Kelly

•8M

The name needs to match what's on her Social Security card. The IRS systems check against the Social Security database, not her W-2. So if she's already updated her name with Social Security, use her new name on the tax return even if her W-2 still shows her maiden name. If she hasn't updated her Social Security card yet, you should either do that before filing or use her maiden name on the tax return this year. You don't need to delay filing if her SS card still has her maiden name - just file with whatever name is currently on her Social Security card and make the update for next year.

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