Hello.
(1) Yes, in most cases, marrying someone with no income will reduce
your taxes.
This is what's called the "marriage bonus."
This is because the standard deduction is larger for a married couple
than a single person (e.g., $7850 vs. $4700 in 2002), and you get to
take a second exemption against taxable income (e.g., an extra $3000
in 2002). The net effect of this is that your taxable income could be
reduced by around $6150. The exact amount of tax that you pay on
$6150, of course, depends on your bracket and also whether your state
has income tax, but a rough estimate of federal tax savings would be a
couple thousand dollars.
Source: H&R Block
"...it can also happen that a joint return will result in less tax.
This is called the 'marriage bonus.' A marriage bonus most often
occurs when a couple's incomes are substantially different. For
example, a one-earner couple generally enjoys a marriage bonus because
the individual who has the income can reduce his or her income by the
spouse's personal exemption and the higher joint standard deduction
(if deductions aren't itemized.)"
H&R Block Tax Tips:
http://www.hrblock.com/part7856124con974632SI3647816/eoy/marriage.html
------------------
(2) If you don't apply for credit together, your future husband's
credit will not affect your application. If you did apply for a joint
credit card, his credit may affect your ability to get that particular
card, but it won't negatively affect your credit. This is because
your credit report is for you as an individual, regardless of your
marital status.
From iplace.com:
"Credit bureaus maintain separate files on each individual, so credit
histories will not be combined when you marry. Only jointly held
accounts or accounts for which one spouse is an authorized user on the
other's account will appear on both credit reports. Your individual
accounts remain your own.
When you apply for credit jointly (e.g., for a large loan that you'll
need two incomes to support), then both of your reports will be
reviewed during the application process. Even then, however,
information from each report, while it may impact the outcome of
getting the loan, will not become a part of the other person's
individual credit history. This can work to a couple's advantage in
certain instances where one person's credit is less than perfect-as in
your situation."
source: "How Can I Keep My Poor Past Credit From Affecting My New
Husband's Credit?" hosted by iplace.com
http://www.iplace.com/expert.asp?exp=ma&art=2_240400
"How Does Being Married Affect Your Credit Report?
If you are married, you are responsible for your own debts and any
debts that you incur jointly with your spouse, or with anyone else.
You are not responsible for your spouse's individual debt. If you and
your husband have a credit card in both names, you are jointly
responsible for the bills if you both signed the application."
source: count-me-in.org
http://www.count-me-in.org/biz/credit.html
More information:
"Are Spouses’ Credit Accounts Linked Together On Credit Reports?"
hosted by iplace.com
http://www.iplace.com/expert.asp?exp=ma&art=007
"Can I Do Anything About My Future-Wife's Bad Credit?" hosted by
iplace.com
http://www.iplace.com/expert.asp?exp=ma&art=005
"Frequently asked questions on credit," hosted by cccsoc.org:
http://cccsoc.org/pages/credit_guide/credit_guide_11.phtml
"Honey, your credit's bringing me down," hosted by money.cnn.com
http://money.cnn.com/2002/03/11/pf/banking/q_spousescore/
(3) You will be perfectly within your rights to purchase a home by
yourself with your own assets. If you buy the home by yourself in your
own name, your spouse will not be part of the home-buying process. As
such, he will not affect your ability to secure financing.
See this explanation from mtgprofessor.com:
"If your fiancée buys the home in his name, he is the borrower and
your debts are irrelevant because you are not part of the
transaction."
http://www.mtgprofessor.com/A%20-%20Qualifying/can_a_spouse's_debts_be_disregarded.htm
-------------------
Here is a good article about prenuptial agreements with specific
information about Colorado law:
"Do You Need A Prenuptial Agreement?" hosted by womenof.com:
http://www.womenof.com/Articles/le031297.asp
Marriage is, of course, a major decision. There are many legal and
financial issues to consider when getting married. Nolo.com has quite
a bit of interesting information on this subject:
http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/index.cfm/catID/F896EE61-B80C-4FE1-B1687AC0F07903BA/subcatid/697DBAFE-20FF-467A-9E9395985EE7E825
More information:
"Romance can wait; first, talk cold, hard cash" hosted by msn.com
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/collegeandfamily/loveandmoney/p37096.asp
Life Events: Marriage
http://66.181.86.204/english/consumers/life_events/marriage/before.php
"See a financial planner before walking down the aisle again" hosted
by bankrate.com
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/pf/20010529a.asp
search strategy:
"marriage bonus", "standard deduction", exemption
"bad credit", spouse, "credit history"
buys, home, name, separate
marriage, prenuptial, credit
I hope this helps. Best of luck to you! |
