Married Income Tax Brackets for 2012

Taking a gander at the married income tax brackets will certainly be of use to you in pursuing the best possible route of action on this years income taxes. Is it better to file as a single filer? Better to file jointly? Taxes are truly a case by case basis and consulting the married income tax brackets cannot be skipped over in planning ones taxes.

If you are a married person then you have only two options from the get go: to file a separate tax return than that of your spouse, or to file one joint tax return with all of your financial situations and resources combined into one tax return. If you had gotten married on the very last day of whatever tax year, then you would be still eligible to file a joint married tax return.

The married income tax brackets may lead you to believe that filing jointly is the best possible route of action, but filing separately has its own advantages as well. Not all married couples bring home proportionate chunks of material resources at the end of the day. What it really takes is a solid knowledge of income taxes and a well thought out plan between two people involving specific financial goals.

Here are some aspects of filing separately you may want to keep in mind:

Your tax rate may be higher.
Usually you will not be able to take the child care credit.
You will not be eligible for the EEC (earned income credit) or for any education credits.
Your capital loss deduction is reduced from $3,000.00 to $1,500.00.
Your first time homebuyer credit is reduced from $7,500.00 to $3,750.00
Your standard deduction is cut in half.
You must itemize if your spouse itemizes.
You will not be able to take a credit for adoptions.
Your retirement contributions credit will be reduced.


Here are the married income tax brackets for filing separately:

$0 - $8,500   -   10%
$8,500 - $34,000   -   $850 + 15%  of the amount over $8,500
$34,000 - $69,750   -   $4750 + 25% of the amount over $34,500
$69,750 - $106,150   -   $13543.75 + 28% of the amount over $69,750
$106,150 - $189,575   -   $23,756 + 33%  of the amount over $106,150
$189,575 or higher   -   $51,287 + 35%  of the amount $189,575


Here's a look at the married income tax brackets for filing jointly:

$0 - $17,000 / 10%
$17,001 - $69,000 / 15%  of the amount over $17,001
$69,001 - $139,350 / 25% of the amount over $69,001
$139,351 - $212,300 /28% of the amount over $139,351
$212,301 - $379,150 / 33% of the amount over $212,301
$379,150 - above / 35% of the amount over $379,150

While the married income tax brackets are only a reference material, there is an online tax filing software that offers you the "biggest refund guaranteed". TurboTax will work through your taxes no matter how you file. The optimum path of financial benefit can be easily calculated through their GPS-like software. Or if all you're interested in is some general information then browsing their site will also afford you that.