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Married couples get 2 big breaks If you're married or were married 2003, the 2003 tax law gives you two sizeable breaks: Expansion of bracket for couples filing jointly. Thanks to the 2003 tax law, under the married filing jointly tax rate schedule, the 15% rate bracket ends at $56,800 ($28,400 x 2). That is up from $47,450, the amount the Internal Revenue Service had originally published for 2003. If you add to that the lower tax rates, here's what could happen. With that, you also get the benefit of a lower tax rate. Say you and your spouse had a joint taxable income of $60,000. Originally in 2003, you would have paid $9,906. Thanks to the wider brackets and a lower top rate of 25%, your tax liability under the new law will be: $8,475, a savings of about $1,431. Expansion of the standard deduction. Under the 2003 tax law, the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is $9,500 for 2003, up from $7,950 originally scheduled. If you itemize your deductions, the break doesn't mean much. If you don't itemize, it could save $387.50 if you're in the 25% bracket. In 2004, the standard deduction rises to $9,700 for married couples. |
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