“M” Is For Marriage And Money

“M” Is For Marriage And Money

January 25th, 2008 @ 3:25 pm by Mrs. Caramel

Mr. Caramel and I were surprised when we found out that he gets an extra $200 in his paycheck per month, just for being married! He explained the process to me and of course I forgot it all, but I was pretty happy to hear that it pays to be married! (Pun intended)

I found some articles online that help explain why couples get a tax bonus when they get married. Not only do I have this to look foward to, but supposedly Americans will be getting $300-$600 checks in the mail due to the recession and under the new economic plan.

“People who did not pay federal income taxes but who had earned income of more than $3,000 would get checks of $300 per individual or $600 per couple.” - CNN

So to all of the 116 million American families out there, expect checks in the mail sometime in June! Woohoo!

On a side note, Mr. Caramel cracked a good one the other day about this, when he told me about our new finance balance per month:

Mrs. Caramel: “Hey thats cool that you get rewarded for being married!”
Mr. Caramel: “I am rewarded every day for being married “
Mrs. Caramel: “Wow. GOOD ONE.”

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9 Responses to ““M” Is For Marriage And Money”

Guest

unfortunately, i believe the rebates are limited only to individuals earning up to $75k and couples earning up to $150k

1/25/08 @ 3:37 pm (reply)

Guest

sorry to burst your bubble, but in the long run/big picture, the tax rebate is not really a good thing. who is the government to up and decide that they are going to hand out all this cash (which btw can be up to ~$1200 depending on # of kids as well) when the country is in so much debt?

also, ppl earning paychecks of over x amount will be phased out of the rebate, not to mention every single tax payer will probably be paying for this in the future. after all, where do you think all of this free cash to give away is suddenly coming from? econ 101 - theres no such thing as a free lunch.

so yea. not very pleased about this rebate.

also re: marriage/paycheck. i dont really know too much about it firsthand since im not married, but i think it partially (mostly?) depends on the earning power of both spouses and your filing status and your withooldings. i would make sure you changed your withholdings appropriately, because if you didnt, you might be getting more money than you’re supposed to and end up owing a lot next year.

like i said, no first hand experience, although im sure there are many more knowledgeable readers than myself..

1/25/08 @ 3:44 pm (reply)

Guest

Jennifer V

Be careful with the tax issue, you may get more back per paycheck, but it could all go back at tax time. I have heard the first year you are married it might be a good idea to file seperatly. Look at it from both ways and see what works best.

I live in MN where a VERY large bridge feel last year and 13 people lost their lives. I would much rather the refund go to make sure this never happenes again then in our pockets. Sorry for the sad note, but it is very real here in MN.

1/25/08 @ 3:56 pm (reply)

Member

beanchar (message) 549 posts, Busy bee

x makes a good point above about taxes and marriage. It’s definitely a good idea to use the IRS’s free “witholding calculator” to figure out if you are having enough (or too little) withheld from your paychecks:

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96196,00.html

The link above takes you to the page that tells you what you will need to have handy to use the calculator and there’s a link at the bottom of the page to begin the calculator questions.

Try it with both “married filing jointly” and “married filing separately” to see which gives you the best outcome.

Also, make sure you fill out a new W-4 and any state tax forms with your HR department. Don’t assume they will automatically make the changes to your name, marital status, etc.

As for the “checks in the mail” from Uncle Sam, don’t be surprised when you owe taxes on that income or, just as likely, have it deducted from your 2008 rebate.

1/25/08 @ 4:08 pm (reply)

Member

yellowhummingbird (message) 5 posts, Newbee

It probably depends on how much each person makes and what kind of quity they have…my FI owns several properties and gets a tax shelter each year, but once we are married- that’s gone. His tax advisor even told him it would be better off for him financially not to get married.

1/25/08 @ 4:21 pm (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Snow Pea (message) 473 posts, Helper bee

A few years ago, there was a rebate given out. I forgot the details but then the year after that, they taxed you on that rebate.

1/25/08 @ 4:34 pm (reply)

Guest

pam

the marriage penalty is alive and true unfortunately for couples who both earn high incomes– 1) the tax brackets for MFJ are not double starting in the 25% tax bracket and up, ie if joint gross income is >$78K even if you take the doubling up of standard deductions and exemptions. also the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax affects taxpayers more than ever, even as regular taxes are being cut. AMT especially affects taxpayers in NY & CA who do not receive the state income tax deduction for AMT. Also, married taxpayers do not have a doubled exemption than single taxpayers. My husband & I who got married last year do not qualify for the rebate checks, and are also subject to a higher tax bracket, we are now going to pay about $500 more in taxes than if we had just been single. not a huge amount but we certainly could have bought 2 wiis.
–your friendly cpa