Do single mothers receive more of a tax return vs. married mothers?

My fiance and I plan to get married before this year is up, but I was wondering if it is wiser to wait until 2008 to get married for a bigger refund when it comes to tax time? I make around $10k a year, and he makes around $26k. Would I get a bigger tax refund if I claimed single, with one dependent and he claims single, or if we got married and did a joint return would that be better? I only ask because we really could use the money to get a better house. Last year he claimed our daughter and I claimed single. He got about $3400 total but I'm not sure how much exactly was from the child tax credit. So basically do married couples receive more of a refund, or would a single/unmarried mother?

Do single mothers receive more of a tax return vs. married mothers?
No offence at all. and i dont want to sound like doctor phil. if yo really truely love eachother and you will be happy togther then money shouldnt be a problem and remember money doesnt but happieness but it can destroy it REMEMBER THAT!!!!!!!!! and think how hrd it must be for you child to have a mom and a dad who arent married. and to answer your question it depends on your state like NY you will not get as much money back if you both claim the child. hope this helps
Reply:If you file as married, you will not receive any Earned Income Credit. The greatest refund occurs when you file as single and claim yourself, and your fiance files as head of household and claims the child. The net refund between the two of you is about $885.





If you file as single and claim the child, and your fiance files as single and claims himself, your net refund between the two of you is about $650.





If you married before the end of the year and filed a joint return, you owe about $500 before withholding.
Reply:Get married before Dec 31, 2007 this year.
Reply:Figure your estimated taxes three ways: if you were married, and if you were single with one or the other of you claiming your daughter.





If you are both the biological parents of your daughter, if he claims her he'd get more for the exemption and child tax credit than you would, and could file as head of household, but if you claim her, you'd get a larger earned income credit which would probably more than make up for the exemption and child tax credit. If you get married in December and file a joint return, you'll get the full benefit of the exemption and child tax credit, but no EIC.





So purely based on income tax, you'd most likely be better to plan a January wedding, and you claim your daughter for the year. You'll both file as single: neither of you will be able to file as head of household - with those two incomes, you'd be hard pressed to show that you paid over half of the expenses of maintaining the household, and he won't have an eligible dependent so can't file as head of household.
Reply:It's really down to your total income. And in your case, the EIC will be a major part of your refund. (And if your income was the same last year, it probalby would have paid more if you had claimed your daughter, by the way.) If you are married you probably will be very near the upper range of the EIC on a joint return and will not likely get much at all. With your income filing as Head of Household you'll come close to maxing out the EIC payment.





If you claim your daughter this year, your EIC will be about $2,747. If he claims her his will be about $966. If you get married and file a joint retun, you'll get nothing for the EIC.





This assumes of course that you are both the parents of your daughter. If he is not the true father then he cannot claim her and legally would have to file an amended return for last year and pay back any excess that he received.