Complete the sentence (leave a comment):
The thing I dislike most about tax time is . . .
Me? Checking that damn “Single” box, when I’m not. Followed closely by the income tax Helen pays on the health insurance coverage that her company provides to me, and the lack of spousal IRA contributions for same-sex couples.
… the entire indignity of it all. Having to fill out two tax returns with one as head of household and the other single. My partner not being able to contribute enough to a Roth because she doesn’t earn enough and she’s not my spouse.
And because I volunteer at a tax center, I also feel bad for all the people who are here illegally but want to do the right thing by filing taxes and they end up owing money which they don’t have. It’s really sad when it happens.
You called it! My partner having to pay income tax on the health insurance I get from her company drives me mad. That she has to file Single, even though her income mostly supports our family is absurd.
What I like about tax time? That I get a hefty refund every year since I am a “single parent” to our kids. I figure if they are going to insist that our relationship doesn’t exist, than I will happily let them pay for it.
My wife is a stay at home mom with our three children… and I hate:
-We cannot contribute one red cent to a retirement account for her
-We cannot deduct her medical bills or I cannot use my tax free heath care savings account to cover her medical needs (in addition to having to count her insurance coverage by my employeer as income)
-We cannot deduct the interest of her student loans
-We have to pay the significant AMT because I make too much money as head of hold, not married
My inability to check ‘married’ cost me almost $10,000 this year. I need to get better tax advice.