I would be lying if I said I didn’t see this one coming, but I guess I thought it would go down a lot smoother than it has. For the past month, The Man and I have been ignoring a little underlying tax tension in this house. Now that we’re married we must share the filing process, and though we’ve been together for seven years that’s not something we’ve ever really talked that much about with each other before. In the past he filed his (usually super early and fast!) and I filed mine (days before that damn deadline), end of story. We didn’t share much other than how much money we were getting back. Now that the experts say when you’re married it’s best you file together we’re faced with our first big challenge as husband and wife: We must somehow agree to disagree over money. Not an easy situation.
Without going into all of the details I’ll say that the main issue is that he wants to file separately and I want to file jointly. Our tax styles don’t exactly jive they way they should. Any other year The Man would go to HR Block, let one of their “experts” help him get the most back and he’d come home with a nice chunk of change headed his way before Valentine’s Day. Any other year I, The Wife, would go purchase the latest turbo tax CD, follow the instructions on the screen, and then cross my fingers that I break even when it was all said and done. If I got back anything at all it was enough to buy a pair of overpriced shoes, maybe, so I didn’t ever feel a rush to file. Continue reading
