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Stromrider
This must be the place



Registered: 06/02/13
Posts: 7,325
Loc: Dept of know what I'm say...
Last seen: 1 day, 7 hours
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Need tax advice
#25767167 - 01/25/19 08:49 AM (5 years, 3 days ago) |
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I'm at a loss here about what to do and was hoping to get a little insight I'm married with 2 kids I can claim. I make 50k a year and my wife doesn't work. She had a little part time job in December and made a total of $115.
We've always filed married jointly. I don't pay in a whole lot during the year but we always get a little back.
Well she's been going to school the past few years and has accrued around $12k in student loan debt and she hasn't been paying it. We honestly just can't afford it. She got her degree in office administration but has yet to find a job.
So I'm worried this year if we file jointly they will garnish our return. I thought about filing separately but I'm afraid if I do that it will raise my tax liability enough that I owe money.
What are my options here? Am I better off to just file jointly and let them garnish it. At least with that I won't owe money.
Thing is we could really use the couple thousand we usually get back.
Any insight would be helpful
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BlazeGlassDabs
Salty Sailor



Registered: 02/20/14
Posts: 754
Loc: Norway
Last seen: 2 years, 10 months
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Turbo tax can be life saver for something like this just to decide whats best You can get tax breaks to help too since your wife is in college also if you bought stuff for work or registered a car this year
-------------------- Cherish yesterday, Dream tomorrow, Live today So if you now number yourself among the disenchanted, then you have no choice but to accept things as they are, or to seriously seek something else. But beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life. - Hunter S. Thompson
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sh4d0ws
LSx


Registered: 02/26/08
Posts: 12,086
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If you've been filing all previous tax years jointly, as a married couple or common-law partners, then I think it might look suspicious and raise a red flag if all of a sudden you file alone. You could probably say you're separated but I have no idea how much they would look into that, probabl wouldn't be hard to figure out if you're both living in the same house still
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geokills
∙∙∙∙☼ º¿° ☼∙∙∙∙


Registered: 05/08/01
Posts: 23,417
Loc: city of angels
Last seen: 2 hours, 5 minutes
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If your wife's student loan is a federal debt that is currently in default, your tax refund will be applied toward paying down the federal debt. If you file separately, you will only qualify for a $12,000 standard deduction on your return (which for $50,000 worth of income places you in a 25% tax bracket and is therefore worth $3,000). If you file jointly, you get a $24,000 standard deduction (worth $6,000). You don't want that debt hanging over your head... My advice is to continue filing jointly, take the bigger deduction so you won't owe as much money in taxes and get the student loan debt paid down. At least this way, the money is going toward relieving a pressure on your family, rather than lining uncle sam's pockets for what is likely to be a minimal (or possibly even zero) short term gain.
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-------------------- ┼ ··∙ long live the shroomery ∙·· ┼ ...╬π╥ ╥π╬...
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Stromrider
This must be the place



Registered: 06/02/13
Posts: 7,325
Loc: Dept of know what I'm say...
Last seen: 1 day, 7 hours
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Re: Need tax advice [Re: geokills]
#25797454 - 02/07/19 02:28 PM (4 years, 11 months ago) |
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Thanks guys. We actually got in touch with people managing the student loans and it has not been turned over yet as we thought it had. We got set up on an affordable payment plan and all looks good
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sh4d0ws
LSx


Registered: 02/26/08
Posts: 12,086
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Don't take payday loans at super high rates ever. Avoid at all costs.
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Lophosaurus
suruasohpol


Registered: 08/09/07
Posts: 8,744
Loc: CA
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Re: Need tax advice [Re: sh4d0ws]
#25813339 - 02/14/19 07:33 PM (4 years, 11 months ago) |
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Use Turbo Tax. They will find you all of your deductions and tell you which way is best to file when you enter your details. It's free too.
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Kryptos
Stranger

Registered: 11/01/14
Posts: 12,258
Last seen: 10 hours, 42 minutes
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Re: Need tax advice [Re: sh4d0ws]
#25813478 - 02/14/19 09:45 PM (4 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
sh4d0ws said: Don't take payday loans at super high rates ever. Avoid at all costs.
Seconded. Turn to prostitution before you take a payday loan. That way, you only get fucked once.
Don't listen to FOX news saying "its a good flexible option for people struggling", cause payday loans have been in the news lately. Specifically, the attempted deregulation of payday loans.
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LogicaL Chaos
Ascension Energy & Alien UFOs




Registered: 05/12/07
Posts: 69,297
Loc: The Inexpressible...
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Re: Need tax advice [Re: Kryptos]
#25814329 - 02/15/19 11:04 AM (4 years, 11 months ago) |
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Ive been using payday loans for years. They help for people who are bad with money like myself.
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Lophosaurus
suruasohpol


Registered: 08/09/07
Posts: 8,744
Loc: CA
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Payday loans are for suckers. They're ripping you off Logical, it seems like they're helping because you're bad with money. People that are good with money know not to use payday loans.
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LogicaL Chaos
Ascension Energy & Alien UFOs




Registered: 05/12/07
Posts: 69,297
Loc: The Inexpressible...
Last seen: 1 hour, 28 minutes
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Im a sucker for those loans. They work for me. Im bad with credit cause i always want to spend it then slowly pay it back.
Taking a $300 cash loan helps me out.
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Lophosaurus
suruasohpol


Registered: 08/09/07
Posts: 8,744
Loc: CA
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It helps you out in the short-term, not in the long-term. That is unless you're getting 0% interest on that loan. What kind of interest are you paying? 200% 400%?
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LogicaL Chaos
Ascension Energy & Alien UFOs




Registered: 05/12/07
Posts: 69,297
Loc: The Inexpressible...
Last seen: 1 hour, 28 minutes
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Its like $36 for a $300 loan. Definitely helps in the short term between paychecks.
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Kryptos
Stranger

Registered: 11/01/14
Posts: 12,258
Last seen: 10 hours, 42 minutes
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Quote:
LogicaL Chaos said: Its like $36 for a $300 loan. Definitely helps in the short term between paychecks.
Holy crap. That's 12% if you're paying back after a YEAR. Assuming two weeks, cause payday loan, you're paying 288% interest. That's about 10 times more than your average (low end) credit card. A regular loan from a bank might be 5-10% APR (for nonexistent credit).
Might seem like a good deal, but that's straight up highway robbery.
I strongly, STRONGLY advise you to sit down and make a budget, then stick to it. Even switching to credit card debt will help you out massively. Heck, even with minimum payments and racking up interest you won't see that level of fees until you let it run up for a few years.
Edited by Kryptos (02/16/19 04:29 PM)
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