Many would say that Mr. Robinson and I married young. I was 22, he was 23. In many ways, we were both adults. In many other ways, we were still "kids." We never really experienced complete independence from our parents until we got hitched. For example, neither of us have ever filed our own taxes. Ever. Both of us were in college and our parents had always taken care of things.
Now, here we are...all grown up...married & clueless.
Okay, okay...we aren't completely grown up...but we are still married & clueless. :)
I was mildly terrified of filing taxes this year. You see, I waited tables for the majority of 2011 and I'll be the first to tell you that I did not even come close to claiming all of the tips I made. The less money I "claimed" in tips, the more money I got to keep. Money I worked my butt off for, I might add. (My behavior wasn't honest, it wasn't Christian-like, and if I was still waiting tables I would conduct myself entirely different.) With a slightly guilty conscience, I was obviously a little bit nervous about a possible audit in our future.
Another scary thing....There are so many choices when it comes to filing taxes. It's a little ridiculous how many choices there are, if you ask me. I thought I'd share with y'all how The Robinson's went about filing taxes and why.
- We filed together because based on our financial situation, it would save us money. Do the research and determine what will be most beneficial to you and your spouse - filing together or filing separately. I was also very inclined for us to file together because I felt like it was the Biblically correct thing to do. Call me crazy, but I feel like when God said a married couple is one, He meant in all areas. Not only in certain areas or in all areas except.... you know what I'm saying? Also, when Mary was pregnant with Jesus, her and Joseph went to be taxed. They went together. Mr. Robinson didn't so much agree with my Biblical reasoning, and that's okay. We did the research and determined that we needed to file together. Advice: Do the research. There are so many options out there, figure out what option works best for you. We all want to get money back! So Google it, ask an accountant for free advice, talk to parents and/or grandparents...
- We decided to have a professional tax accountant do our taxes for us instead of doing them on our own. Like I said, we have no experience with this whole "filing taxes" thing. We are still wet behind the ears. I'm lucky enough to work for the family business and we already had a trusted accountant. His private company handled our taxes this year.
- We turned in everything. Just to be sure. Our W2's (we each had two), the tithes and offerings report from church, receipts from the Goodwill donations we made (even the separate donations we made before we were married), etc. We turned in everything.
Filing taxes can be stressful. We certainly argued about the best thing to do and the best way to do it. What we learned (and we are not experts by ANY means) is to do your research! What works for your parents might not work for you. Ask around, do internet searches, and be prepared to stay confused. I'd (personally) recommend hiring a professional to save yourself a headache AND professionals can check both options (filing jointly or separately) and tell you which way will save money!
We just found out yesterday that we got $2,000 back! Whoop, Whoop!!
I hope this helps! How'd you survive tax season?
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