Taxes. My wife and i have have a 2 year old son and i lost my job after 8 years. Ive been collecting?

unemployment since 4/15/07. Is it better to file sperate or together? Meaning more money wise.

Together.

Together, separately is expense and unusually only if you can't find the other person or if they are committing fraud so you don't want to sign the return.

Probably better to file together but consult an accountant just to be sure.

Together, because of the child tax credit.

Together of course because it will become a joint. Keep the faith just keep looking.

file together....you can combine al of your charity work together and youll defenitely save more $$.
here are some tx-saving tips:
1. Keep all business-related receipts. Keep track of what the receipts are for, and save them in a safe place.

2. Deductions. Many people neglect to carefully look for, and claim, all the deductions to which they're entitled. By simply taking the standard deduction, you may miss out on other available deductions.

3. Take all applicable tax credits. For each child under the age of 17, there is up to a $1,000 tax credit. There are also various other credits, such as those available when you adopt a child or when you elect to claim a Lifetime Learning Credit.

4. Take a loss. If you鈥檝e done well with your investments and are looking at significant capital gains, prior to year-end is the time to offset some of those gains by selling a losing venture. Also, remember that you can carry forward up to $3,000 from previous years鈥?losses.

5. Consider tax-free investments. Returns are not very high, but if you're looking for a safe, tax-friendly investment, consider tax-free government or municipal bonds, among other such investments. This type of investment is particularly good for a high-income individual.


6. Remember charitable donations. While donations should not be made simply for tax purposes but for philanthropic reasons, you can always make a couple more at the end of the year to lower your tax bite. Remember to get receipts.

7. Gift if you can.


You can give up to $12,000 away tax-free to each person you choose. This is typically for retirees with significant assets who want to gift money now, rather than leave it for estate taxes later.

8. Max out your IRA or other retirement plan contributions. Of course, by doing so you're assuming that your personal income will be lower when you withdraw the money. While that may or may not be the case, it鈥檚 safe to say that, if there are a number of years until you start taking distributions, the tax laws will likely change many times over between now and then 鈥?hopefully in your favor.

9. Put your (over 14-year-old) children on the payroll. By having them do some work for you, you鈥檒l be able to shift some of your income that would be taxed at a higher rate to their lower tax bracket without being hit with kiddie taxes. Be careful, however, because college financial aid could be affected by their income.

10. Double-check your work. Errors in tax preparation and on tax returns account for millions of dollars that taxpayers could have saved every year. Remember to double-check everything.

more:
http://www.nrilinks.com/Finance/TaxInfo/...

In your case, it's better to file together because there is an earned income credit you can qualify for and there is a child tax credit you can claim. If you file separately you can't claim either one of those credits. You may want to check with a tax adviser to see what state credits you may qualify for. (Each state is different)

Which state? Community property states negate the advantages. Also depends on (1) her income and (2) your income before 4/15+ your unemployment ( and withholding if any). Generally filing separate only makes sense if your combined incomes is over $250,000 and one of you made considerably less than the other.

If you file separately, your wife can still claim the child tax credit.

It's the child CARE credit that MFS filers can't claim.

Together absolutely. You will lose your $1,000 child credit for your son if you file separately. You will also lose any earned income credit that you are entitled to.

Would almost surely be better to file a joint return.

Good luck.

You are better off filing together. If you file separate tax returns, you will lose any tax credits that you may be entitled like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Credit.