Tuesday, January 29, 1937
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE THIRTEEN
Married Couples Usually Save Money By Submitting Joint Income Tax Returns
Editor's note: This Is the second of
five articles u help taxpayers make
out their federal income tax returns.
By RUSSELL C. HARRINGTON
Internal Revenue) Commissioner
Written for United Press
Washington (U.R) Married
couples usually can save money
by filing a joint return instead
of separate returns for their
federal income tax. The . only
sure way to tell which method
costs less is to figure the tax
both ways.
The law allows you to file
either jointly or separately in
any year, whichever way you
select. In other words, you are
not bound to file jointly this
year just because you did last
year.
The same blank forms are
used whether you file jointly or
separately. Generally, if the
combined income of husband
and wife was less than S5.000,
you can make the choice be
tween the simple card Form
1040A or the longer Form 1040.
If your income was $5,000 or
more, you must file on Form
1040.
Separate Tax Years
There- are certain situations
in which joint filings are for
bidden. These happen in rela
tively few cases, but should be
remembered. They are: If you
Quotes From the News
By UNITED PRESS .
London Great Britain's Home Secretary R. A. Butler, repre
senting Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in Parliament and sup
porting the U.S. policy of stationing American servicemen in
Britain:
"The purpose of this policy, far from provoking war, is to pre
vent it. The U.S. forces in the United Kingdom are part of the de
terrent against war."
Washington Maj. Gen. E. A. Walsh, president of the National
Guard association, answering Defense Secretary Charles E. Wil
son's statement that during the Korean war the National Guard
was used by young men as a "draft-dodging business":
"In my book, one who performs honorable military service in
lime of war or national emergency has no right to be tagged as a
draft dodger, as Mr. Wilson unfortunately has chosen to call him."
New York Charles Van Doren, deciding not to pocket his
winnings of $122,Q00 but to continue answering questions on a
television quiz show:
"I hate to quit. It takes more guts to quit than to go on."
Miami Beach, Fla. Walter Reuiher, commenting on a state
ment by the Executive Council of the merged AFL-CIO that union
officials should speak up "freely and without reservation" before
a congressional investigation of labor racketeering:
"It is an important historical step to rid the labor movement of
small minority of crooked, corrupt leaders."
San Francico Henry Ford II, president of Ford Motor Co.,
suggesting the withholding of aid from Soviet satellites is not in
"our own best interests":
"I think we need to be realistic and decide whether our trade
and aid polices toward such satellite areas as Poland, Hungary,
East Germany and Red China are really in our own interests."
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were divorced or legally sepa
rated on or before Dec. 31,
196; if you are married to a
non-citizen who does not live
in this country; or if you and
your wife report your income
on the basis of different tax
years (that is, if you report your
income on a 12-month period
ending Oct. 31, for instance, and
your wife uses the calendar
year).
Even if your wife had no in
come at all, you may file a joint
return. And if you didn't marry
her until New Year's Eve be
fore midnight, of course you
may still file a joint return.
If your wife worked a little
during the year and earned less
than S600. it will probably be
to your advantage to file a
joint return, rather than letting
her file separately. She might
get a refund by filing separately
in this case, but you could not
file a joint return and you would
lose her as an exemption. More
about exemptions tomorrow.
If your wife or husband died
during the year and you did
not re-marry before the end of
the year, you may file a joint
return for the full year. And
under certain circumstances the
surviving spouse may claim the
same income -splitting benefits
of a joint return for the two
years following.
When husband and wife file a
joint return, both must sign the
return and both become liable
for any amount of tax owed.
Special Tax Rates
In filing a joint return you
add both the husband's and the
wife's income and list the ex
emptions and deduction (stan
dard or itemized) to which
both are entitled. Special tax
rates are provided for calculat
ing the tax you owe if you file
jointly. The rates are figured as
if your joint income were split
in half and you each paid the
tax on one half.
Keep in mind if you file sep
arate returns that if one of you
itemizes his or her deductions
the other must also itemize.
Whether filing jointly or sep
arately, if you compute your tax
and find you owe more tax, at
tach a check or a money order
for the full amount due. Make
it payable to "Internal Revenue
Service" and send it with your
return to the director of intern
al revenue for your district.
When you file jointly, you at
tach both the husband's and
the wife's forms W2 to the joint
return. If your returns are sep
arate, attach the right return.
One tax item which affects
couples more often than it af
fects individuals is buying or
selling a house.
As a general rule, if you sell
your home or any other person
al property, such as stocks or
bonds, you must pay a tax on
the profit you make. There is
an exception which applies in
certain cases where you sell
your residence.
If you sold your home during
1956 for a higher price than you
paid in buying it and making
improvements on it, you need
not pay a tax on the profit if
you buy another home within
12 months and pay as much or
more for the new one as you
The Family Council
Editor's note: The Family Council consist ol a Jndce, a psychiatrist,
three clergymen, a newspaper editor, a women's editor and two writers. Each
arUcle Is a summary of an actual report. The Family Council does not give
advice; It merely reports on problems that have been dealt with by responsible
agencies and counselors.
Mr. F. G. We must ask our
son to leave.
Mrs. F. G. How can we be
Mrs. F. G. How can we be
Mr. F. G. My wife and I are
in our 60s and are the parents
of two married sons. Our young
er son had been living in anoth
part of the country until last
year when he lost his job and
returned with his wife and child
to stay with us. '
During this year our son has
had a lot of trouble getting
situated. He has had three dif
ferent jobs and none has worked
out. I feel that it is not good
for him to stay with us. We have
a fair income and it's not a great
burden on us to have him and
the family, but I feel he is get
ting too choosy about jobs be
cause he knows he can count
on us. I feel we should tell him
he must leave.
Louis was always a bit of
a problem not lazy exactly, but
never wanting to take any more
responsibility than he absolutely
had to.
when he is in trouble? We have
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cSu&t H . HARDWARE y
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE
This newspaper is a member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations, a
nonprofit, cooperative association of publishers, advertisers, and adver
tising agencies. Our circulation is audited at regular intervals by experi
enced A-B.C. circulation auditors and their reports are made available
to our advertisers without obligation.
MEASURE OF SERVICE. ..MARK OF INTEGRITY
so cruel as to turn out our son
when he is trouble? We have a
a house with plenty of room. We
have no excuse to refuse to have
him.
I feel that Louis' real trouble
is with his wife. She is very
domineering and makes too
many demands on him. He has
become very nervous and irrit
able and the two of them fight
a lot. We don't interfere, but I
think he likes to feel there is
someone around who is on his
side.
My husband has always been
hard on Louis, telling him he
wasn't man enough to go in for
sports or into business compe
tition. It's true that Louis was a
bit backward about some things,
but he is a smart boy and
shouldn't have been teased about
them. He lost his self-confidence
and now we have to help him
build it up again.
The Council: Mrs. F. G. is
right that Louis must have lost
both self-confidence and self
reliance, partially at least,
through his father's teasing.
However, these parents cannot
now help him to regain both
by letting him fall back into
their arms.
Mrs. F. G. is probably also
right in her feeling that Louis
is seeking help from his parents
in connection with his difficul
ties with his wife. But they are
not helping him by offering him
"someone around who is on his
side." He must learn to be on
his own side and to stand up
for himself against his dom
ineering wife.
On the other hand, it would
be cruel to "turn out" Louis
when he is jobless. His parents
do not have to manage the mat
ter in a way that will make it
such a blow. A kinder, more
sensible procedure would be to
tell Louis that they feel it would
be best for him and his family
if he would set up his own home
when he gets his next job
and that should be as soon as
possible.
Since Louis is having so many
difficulties on both the job and
marital fronts, it would be ad
visable for him to see a phy
sician. If his physical health is
up to par, the physician might
recommend some form of psy
chotherapy for him and his wife
to help them straighen out their
affairs.
(COPYRIGHT 1957.
GENERAL FEATURES CORP.)
eot for the old one.
If you sold your home and are
building a new one rather than
buying an existing home you
nave 18 months instead of 12.
If you buy a new home for
less than you sold the old one,
you must pay tax on part, or
an, ot tne profit from selling
the old. If you owned the old
home for more than six months
the tax may be at lower rates.
Report all of this in detail on
a separate tax form, called
Schedule D, and summarize it
on page 3 of Form 1040.
I will discuss the tav rlrlnrt-
ibilitay of interest payments on
tne mortgage the day after to
morrow, in an article on all
kinds of deductions.
Tomorrow: Exemptions and
dependency allowances.
Information Office
Budget Target
Washington (U.R) Rep. John
E. Moss (D-Calif.) says he
will try to get Congress to cut
off any further appropriations
for the Office of Strategic Infor
mation. President Eisenhower has pro
posed that the agency be given
$105,100 for its operations in the
fiscal year beginning July 1. But
Moss said he will ask the House
Appropriations Committee to re
ject the President's request.
Mr. Eisenhower asked for the
new funds even though the
House Government Operations
Committee unanimously recom
mended last year that OSI be
abolished.
OSI was set up in the Com
merce Department in 1955 to
act as. a "clearing house" for
nonsecret information which
might be of strategic value to
an enemy.
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