Tax Brackets

• The main distinction that the Internal Revenue Service makes between joint married tax returns and tax returns for single people is the point at which tax brackets begin and end. For instance, the lowest tax bracket requires a 10 percent payment of tax on income. As of the 2010 tax year, this rate for a single person cuts off at $8,375 in earnings. Past this point, a single person must pay an income tax of 15 percent or more. However, for married people filing jointly, their combined income does not hit the 15 percent level until it reaches $16,750. This is particularly beneficial for married households with a single wage earner.
  
  

Deductions and Exclusions

• A tax deduction is an expense you can claim to lower your taxable income. An exclusion is income that the Internal Revenue Service does not tax because it occurs within certain circumstances. Married people who file jointly can often enjoy higher deductions and exclusions. For instance, if you sell a home that was your main residence prior to the sale, you may enjoy an exclusion of up to $250,000 on any profit from this sale. However, if you are a married couple filing jointly, you may exclude up to $500,000 of profit in such a transaction.
  
  

Status Definitions

• Determining your status may be confusing if your status changed during the tax year. If you got married or divorced during a particular tax year, whatever your status was on the last day of the year is the way in which the Internal Revenue Service sees you. If a couple gets divorced at the end of the year, they cannot file a joint return. However, if they get married on the last day of the year, they can file a joint return. But if your spouse died during the year in question, you may file a joint tax return with that person unless you remarried before the end of the year.
  
  

Separate Married Returns

• People who are married may choose to file separate tax returns as if they were not married. However, for most people, this is not beneficial because it makes a number of tax benefits unavailable, such as tax credits that the Internal Revenue Service allocates for child and dependent care. However, in special cases, filing separate returns can pay off. An example would be if one spouse is self-employed while the the other is a full-time employee. The self-employed one may be more prone to getting audited by the Internal Revenue Service regarding his business expenses, and any additional tax liabilities resulting from such an audit can extend to the other spouse in the case of a joint filing.