i know taxes aren't due until april but i usually file early. however, since dh and i just got married i wasn't sure the best way to file. jointly vs. separate. also since he won't be home until march i didn't know if i hould wait that long, i think at tat time we are going to have a lot on our plates with the move and everything and i'd rather not wait till the last minute. i don't have poa so i can;t do it jointly without him here. right? so would it be better to wait until he was home or do mine now and his later? :confused

i used to do it jointly all the time when he was deployed. i just do mine online.

I do ours jointly too. I also do them online. I'll probably do them in the middle of next month or sooner.

Rarely is it better to file separately. Its up to you to do it while he is away or wait. Do whatever is comfortable to you.

If you file joint your tax benifits are better...also if you file online no one knows that your husband isn't home.

I do ours jointly online as soon as W-2's come out.

do i get his w-2's in the mail?

W2's are avalible on MyPay mid Jan ususally...Anybody see the dates yet???

OK I found it.
***Tax Statements for 2005 Available on myPay***
-- Retirees 1099R: 16 December 2005
-- Annuitants 1099R: 16 December 2005
-- Army, Navy and Air Force Reserves W-2: 31 December 2005
-- Civilians W-2: 9 January 2006
-- Marine Corps Active Duty and Reserves W-2: 10 January 2006
-- Army, Navy and Air Force Active Duty W-2: 21 January 2006

once i get the check in the mail, won't i have to wait for dh to sign it anyway. this is not that big of a problem i can just wait till he gets home but how soon would i have to cash it...within 60 or 90 days. this will make a difference in when i file it. thanks a million ladies!!

HUmmm Usually checks are 90 days but I dunno, and hey as long as there's a sig on the back....I've signed my dh's name when I forgot to get him to sign. Or you could sign it and deposit at the ATM....

We efile so we don't get any checks int he mail. It is deposited right into our bank account.

Gotta watch, too, with your name change (if it did) I think you have to file paper way and dh will either need to be there or get you a poa. But they will still do direct deposit.

I didn't have a problem filing electronically the year my name changed, even though my only W-2 had my maiden name on it. As long as your social hasn't changed, I wouldn't think it would be a problem.

File jointly for sure. Dh and I filed jointly for the first time last year and got the biggest return I've ever seen! Get his W-2 on mypay when its available, do them online, I did them with Turbo Tax, it was soooo easy! AND do NOT have them mail you a check. Definitely do direct deposit. Believe me, you will get your money within 2 weeks as oposed to MONTHS if they mail it to you! And no you don't need him to file electronically.

Since I just got married on halloween we decided to just file seperately (my dad will just do mine here on the phone)....Because then i think our paper work will have to be changed cause i filed my work as single claiming whatever whatnot...Next year we will do joint...

It doesnt matter what you claim at work, you can still file jointly. I and dh both claim single at work, simply so they can take out as many taxes as possible. What you claim at work has nothing to do with how you do your taxes. IMO I would do your taxes joint, it might actually benefit you. But if I were you I would actually do both, joint and separate, and then decide before filing which is more beneficial for you both ;)

Joe still claims single-0 on his W-4 at work so they take out the maximum amount from each check. That way we know we're getting a refund when we claim married-3 on our taxes each year.

thanks so much, it's all a huge help. it's so nice to have the luxuary of the internet when dh is away.

Great info girl! I've been talking about this with dh and we will be doing as joint. I worked most of the time but I haven't been working for over a month, I'm sure we will do better as joint.

When Dh and I first got married we filed separately, then we decided to file jointly, because he was deployed and I don't think they had mypay set up back then. LOL! Then we found out we could ammend our tax returns up to 5 years back, so we ended up re-filing the 2 that we had filed separately and got a lot of money back. (We're talking a difference of a few thousand dollars.) If you haven't changed your name with Social Security, file under your maiden name, until you get your new SS card. Good luck deciding, Sweetie!!

i already changed my name back in aug when we got married. however when i talk to dh the other day and asked him about mypay, he informed me that he lost his pin and hasn't seen a paystub since he enlisted. so i have to wait until he gets home now. i was really hoping i could take care of it since we would be so busy with moving but there is no way he can fax all the stuff he needs to before he gets home. what a goof