First time filing taxes jointly after marriage - worth getting an accountant?

Filing jointly isn't inherently more complicated than filing single - you're basically just combining two individual situations onto one return. TurboTax can definitely handle your scenario, especially if you're already comfortable using it. At your combined income level, you might face the "marriage penalty" since both of you are high earners. This happens when your combined income pushes you into a higher tax bracket than you would have been in separately. However, filing jointly still typically provides more benefits than filing separately. Regarding your wife's tax debt, that's something to be careful about. When you file jointly, any refund you might receive could be automatically applied to her outstanding debt. If you want to avoid that, you might consider filing separately just for this year, but you'd need to run the numbers both ways to see which is more advantageous. For $400-500, a good accountant might find deductions or credits you're missing, especially if you have any investments, property, or other complexities. They could also help strategize around the tax debt situation. But if your situation is just two W-2s with standard deductions, you might not get enough value to justify the cost.

Just wanted to share my experience - I was in your shoes last year and found https://taxr.ai incredibly helpful. Like you, I was used to doing my own taxes but newly married with a significant combined income. I uploaded our W-2s and previous returns, and the AI quickly pointed out some filing options I hadn't considered. It showed me a side-by-side comparison of filing jointly vs. separately given our specific situation and highlighted where we could maximize deductions. The thing that really helped was when it identified that my wife's student loan interest deduction would be eliminated if we filed jointly due to our combined income exceeding the limit. We ended up filing separately that year just for that reason, saving us about $800. It even flagged potential issues with past tax debt much like your situation! Definitely worth checking out if you want to make an informed decision without immediately jumping to an accountant.

I have to follow up on my skeptical comment about taxr.ai - I decided to try it myself last weekend and was honestly blown away. I'm eating my words now! I've been filing jointly with my husband for years, but we've had this ongoing question about how to handle his freelance income alongside my W-2. The tool analyzed our situation and immediately identified that we were overpaying self-employment tax because we weren't properly categorizing some of his business expenses. It also flagged that we qualified for a home office deduction we'd been missing. The interface makes it really clear WHY certain deductions apply to you, which I've never gotten from TurboTax. For what it's worth, we're going with their recommendation to file jointly but with a specific allocation of business expenses that we'd never considered before. Projected to save us about $1,200 compared to how we filed last year!

If you're dealing with IRS debt, I HIGHLY recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually get a human on the phone at the IRS. I spent weeks trying to call about my wife's old tax debt situation (similar to yours) and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Claimyr got me connected to an IRS agent in under 45 minutes when I'd been trying unsuccessfully for weeks. The IRS agent was able to set up a payment plan that worked for our budget and even reduced some of the penalties that had accumulated. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It was honestly life-changing after the frustration of trying to handle it ourselves. Just knowing exactly where we stood with the debt and having official documentation of our payment plan made our first joint filing so much smoother.

I need to update my skeptical comment about Claimyr. After continuing to struggle with IRS calls for another week (getting disconnected 4 more times!), I reluctantly tried the service. I was completely wrong. After weeks of frustration, I was connected to an actual IRS representative in 37 minutes. The agent pulled up my file, answered all my questions about my past-due amounts, and helped me set up a payment plan that works with my budget. What really surprised me was how the IRS agent was able to explain options I didn't know existed - including a first-time penalty abatement that saved me over $700. I'd spent so much time just trying to reach someone that I hadn't even gotten to the point of asking about these possibilities. For anyone dealing with IRS debt while trying to file jointly for the first time (like the original poster), being able to actually talk to someone at the IRS makes a huge difference in understanding your options.

As a married guy who's been filing jointly for years, here's my two cents - if your financial situation is just two W-2s and standard deductions, TurboTax will work fine. But if you start having investments, rental property, or significant itemized deductions, an accountant starts to pay for themselves. The first year filing jointly is a good time to establish a relationship with an accountant. Even if you don't use them every year, having someone who knows your tax situation can be invaluable when more complex questions come up. One thing to consider - at your income level, you might be approaching some phase-out thresholds for certain deductions and credits. An accountant might help identify tax planning opportunities for future years.

Make sure you look into the marriage penalty! My spouse and I were shocked when we filed jointly for the first time. Our combined income pushed us into a higher bracket and we ended up owing way more than we expected. The worst part was realizing after the fact that we could have saved money by filing separately that year. Def run the numbers both ways before deciding!!