Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange
Personal Finance & Money Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [marriage]

For questions related to marital issues, e.g. filing jointly, sharing finances, etc. For tax questions, please add a relevant country or regional tag as well.

96 questions
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17 answers

How to share income after marriage and kids?

My girlfriend and I are thinking about marriage and having children and I have spent the last days trying to figure out concepts how to handle finances from that point forward. I believe that this is relevant to most people in such a situation not…
Chris
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12 answers

How can I legally and efficiently help my girlfriend build equity by helping with a mortgage?

I am in a committed relationship -- but for various reasons don't want to get married. I just bought my first apartment for $200,000 on a 30 year mortgage. My girlfriend will be living with me but her name is not on the mortgage. We are trying to…
bernie2436
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10 answers

Which practice to keep finances after getting married: joint, or separate?

My wife and I have been keeping our finances separate for a long time. Some of my friends just put everything in a big pot. We each have our own pot, but then we have a common pot where we put all the common expenses money, and we pay all expenses…
Geo
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7 answers

Why do American dual-high-income couples get legally married?

If each member of a couple makes a high income, they pay much more U.S. income tax if married. So it makes sense for them to avoid legal marriage. They can still do a religious ceremony or a commitment ceremony without notifying City Hall. They…
Joshua Fox
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26
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4 answers

Going to get married soon, should I do it on Dec 31 or Jan 1?

I know that there is a tax advantage to having a child on December 31st at 11:59 as opposed to January 1st at 12:01. Does the same hold true for marriage? If it matters I make ~$130,000/yr and have a rental property and a home, and my girlfriend is…
Sam
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2 answers

How will getting married before the end of the year impact this year's taxes?

My fiancée and I plan on getting married in December of 2018. She wants to go to the courthouse this month and get legally married immediately, so we can work on an adoption process with her child. How would getting married this year impact our 2016…
SBB
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3 answers

Need advice about my financial situation

Here is my living situation in a nutshell Live in California 2 kids (7 and 11) Ex-wife I am almost 40. I rent Financial situation: Make about $170k (includes regular job + moonlighting) before taxes. Kids school = $1000 a month (by court order…
NeedAdvice
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1 answer

What are the advantages of a prenuptial agreement?

Why people don't do them? and why people do? Does it makes financial sense to do them?
Geo
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11
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6 answers

How to keep control of shared expenses inside marriage?

I've been married for a couple of years now, and we've been playing pretty loose with our finances (we keep separate accounts and like to pay more or less equally for our common expenses). Lately, we've been feeling the need to know where our money…
malvim
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1 answer

If you're married, can you still file an income tax return as a single individual?

Roth IRA limits on income make it advantageous for my wife to file single. We are getting married this year in November. The IRS says that if you are married filing separately, that essentially she can't contribute to a Roth (unless she makes no…
Michael Pryor
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2 answers

What are the financial implications of merging my wife's bank and investment accounts with mine?

Background I've been married to my wife for eight years & live in Washington State. For that entire time, we've had separate bank and investment accounts, mostly due to inertia. I make most of the money, and so I manage all of our finances out of…
user81142
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1 answer

My spouse and I can make a budget, but how can I get her to consistently follow it?

This question is similar to this question: I can make a budget, but how can I get myself to consistently follow my budget? except from the point of view of a married couple. In our family I earn the money and my wife spends it. For various reason…
Andy
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1 answer

Due to the repeal of DOMA, can I exclude imputed income if I amend prior year returns?

My wife and I each cover the other under our employee health coverage (belts and suspenders, ok?) and therefore each incur imputed income on the value of that coverage. We live in a state that recognizes our marriage. I understand that given the…
user10456
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2 answers

Married during the tax year, how does that work

I got married this last year in December. I had done my taxes as if I was not married and had no dependents, which was correct in January. My wife currently does not have a job. Should this effect my income tax filing and return, and if so how?
C. Ross
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1 answer

How do taxes work if one's spouse dies?

My question is not for estate planning, but to understand taxes (similar to question for Canada) but when taxes have been filed regularly (and pertaining to the U.S., not Canada). Suppose a couple has been filing married jointly for many years and…
Neil
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