Revisiting a History of Marriage in the Tax Code, Part 10
The tax oddity that we now call the “marriage penalty” came about in 1971. Let’s look at some examples.
Can I Claim My Boyfriend/Girlfriend As a Dependent?
This question comes up a lot, and the answer — as always — is “maybe.”
Glossary: Tier I/Tier II Railroad Retirement Benefits
Railroad Retirement Benefits are a form of retirement income for people employed by railroads in the United States. Let’s look at how these benefits are taxed.
Revisiting a History of Marriage in the Tax Code, Part 9
Head of household filing status was created in 1951.
Revisiting a History of Marriage in the Tax Code, Part 8
in 1948, Congress created filing statuses. The original filing statuses in 1948 were: Single; Married Filing Jointly; and Married Filing Separately.
Revisiting a History of Marriage in the Tax Code, Part 7
After Poe v. Seaborn, proposals to equalize the tax treatment of married couples were floated in 1933, 1934, 1937 and 1941, but none of the proposals were adopted.
Revisiting a History of Marriage in the Tax Code, Part 6
Now let’s look at what the IRS and the courts had to say about the issue of filing separate tax returns and community property law in the 1920s.
Revisiting a History of Marriage in the Tax Code, Part 5
Community property laws factored heavily into the creation of filing statuses in the U.S. Tax Code.
Glossary: AGI
AGI stands for “adjusted gross income.” AGI is the bottom-line number on the front side of the federal Form 1040. It’s a key number as a taxpayer’s AGI determines eligibility for credits and various deductions elsewhere on the tax return.
Revisiting a History of Marriage in the Tax Code, Part 4
Back in 2014 and into 2015, I posted a multi-part series of posts about the history of marriage in the tax code. In 2016 I was asked to condense that series into a CPE presentation. Here are excerpts from that presentation. This series of posts will cover a lot of the same ground as was […]