Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Presumably a straight, unmarried couple could do the same thing. The next question, however, is why would you want to? Even with the increased standard deduction for married couples, if both of you are earning decent money, you're better off filing as singles. So unless Rosie is keeping her wife home barefoot and pregnant, why file together?
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I think significant income disparities are generally more common than they are among the people most of us know - we all know a few lawyer/housewife and lawyer/schoolteacher combos, but we often know a lot more lawyer/lawyer or similar combos. Unionized factory worker/drug store clerk, for instance, involves an income disparity sufficient to yield definite tax advantages.
Also, there is an emotional aspect to it - there is something nice and mushy about doing everything together. Not rational, but there it is.
For a small minority where one spouse is not a US citizen but needs or wants a green card or citizenship based on marriage, filing jointly is highly, highly recommended regardless of tax disadvantages - if you aren't filing jointly it looks to them like you are keeping separate finances (i.e.: it is a fraudulent marriage). I've known some couples who would really have taken a serious tax hit and get letters and extensive documentation from their tax advisors, basically saying "they wanted to file jointly but I told them not to because it would have cost them $XX,XXX in additional taxes," and still they got shit during the immigration application process because that was deemed so "suspicious."
BR(I friggin' hate immigration)C
