5 Reasons It’s Great to Be Single at Tax Time

Being single brings several big upsides, like having the freedom to spend your time and money on the things that are important to you (and you alone)! Though getting married is a well-known tax advantage, being single can also come in handy during tax refund season. So let’s toast to Galentine’s Day (or any other singles’ celebrations) with these five reasons why it pays to be riding solo at tax time.

You Can Get a Credit for Claiming a Dependent

A boyfriend or girlfriend can be claimed as a dependent if they pass some of the same tests used to determine if your child or relative can be claimed as a dependent and live with you all year (You can read about the tests here). If your significant other can be claimed as a dependent you can claim the new Other Dependent Credit for non-child dependents up to $500.

It May Be Easier to Qualify for Educational Tax Credits

The American Opportunity Tax Credit provides a tax credit of up to $2,500 per student off of the taxes you owe if you paid for qualified college expenses for an eligible student. There’s also the Lifetime Learning Credit, which provides a credit of up to $2,000 per tax return for qualified education expenses – but there are income limitations to both, if you had a spouse their additional income would put you beyond the limit of claiming the education credits.

The full amount of the American Opportunity Tax Credit is available for individuals with a Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) of less than $90,000 and less than $180,000 for married filing jointly. The full Lifetime Learning Credit is available for MAGI under $68,000 for single filers, and under $136,000 for married filing jointly.

No “Newlywed Surprise” On Your Taxes

After getting married, many individuals forget to review their tax withholding with their employer. For some, that means they aren’t withholding enough and may owe at tax time. When you experience major life changes, it’s a good time to look at how your taxes would be impacted.

Marriage or divorce can change your tax situation, and the addition of a dependent (by birth or adoption, or an elderly parent moving in and getting more than 50% of their support from you) may make it necessary to change to tax withholding. No spouse? You may not need to check your W-4 if you didn’t have any life changes. High five!

You Don’t Have to Deal with Someone Else’s Tax Debt

When you pledge “’til death do us part,” you’re also pledging to be liable for spouse’s tax debt. That’s right — if your spouse owes back taxes, you are also responsible for those debts in the eyes of the IRS if you file jointly. The IRS has 10 years to collect the taxes that you owe, so it’s not something that will go away quickly. If you are single, you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to handle your spouse’s debt.

HBIC: Head Bae In Charge

If you are not married, you may be able to file as a head of household as long as:

• You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year.
• You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
• A qualifying dependent lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the qualifying person is your dependent parent, he or she doesn’t have to live with you.

What can the claim of being HBIC (Head Bae In Charge) get you? You will see a bigger standard deduction of $18,350 as the head of the household instead of the $12,200 standard deduction for single filers.

Single is fabulous! Enjoy every minute of it, no matter how long it lasts. And don’t worry about knowing tax laws or forms, TurboTax will ask you simple questions about you and give you the tax deductions and credits you are eligible for based on your answers. You can also connect live via one-way video to a TurboTax Live CPA or Enrolled Agent with an average of 15 years of experience to get your tax questions answered. TurboTax Live CPAs and Enrolled Agents are available in English and Spanish, year round and can also review, sign and file your tax return.

3 responses to “5 Reasons It’s Great to Be Single at Tax Time”

1. 

   How about if you’re a single senior that works full time and pays a lot of taxes at work.
   Pays a huge amount of rent.
   Any tax advice?

   Reply
2. 

   A single person with no dependant should also be allowed to claim “Head of Household”! We still have to provide a home and pay utilities for our selfs, so why does one more person in the home grant a tax payer an extra $6000? The single tax payer pays more taxes and receives no benifits! This needs to change! Those with children receive way too much in tax refunds. They just know how to work the system. I feel that the IRS needs to audit those filers claiming a boyfriend or girlfriend! That is so unjust yet a single , hardworking,honest tax payer with no dependant cannot claim head of household? Tax laws need to be more fair!

   Reply
3. 

   When does turbo tax release the return?

   Reply