SR in Chicago asked:


I am 29 and my wife is 23. We recently got married a year ago and this April will be our first tax season. Here are the facts:

I make 70k a year. I have a credit score of 800. I have no credit card debt. However I do have 5k in student loans remaining and I pay the monthly mortgage on my parents home (100k remaining), which is where my wife and I live. We have no plans of moving in the near future. The mortgage and home is in my parent name. My parents don’t work due to diabilities. So I am the primary bread winner.

My wife recently graduated college and does not work. She has a total of 60k in student loans. 20k is under her name (that I pay the monthly payments for) and the remaining 40k is under her parents name (which I assume they take care of). She has 2k in credit card debt. She also plans on going to grad school in a year.

We currently do not have kids and are not planning on it for another year or so.

Our questions are:
Should we file our taxes jointly or seperately? Which is more beneficial?
How and/or Will her outstanding student loan affect my credit and credit score?
Will my ability to get a future loan (mortgage, MBA student loan, car loan, investment loan for a rental property) be affected by her student loan?
Does getting a joint checking or savings account impact how we should file our taxes or does it affect our credit score?
How will putting her on my credit card or bank debit card affect me, my credit or credit score?

I am sure I will have lots of follow up questions and I am grateful for any honest and sincere advice or links.

San Diego Foreclosures