Families nowadays tend to rely on both husbands and wives bringing home paychecks. Sometimes, though, the combined incomes can push couples into a higher tax bracket. South Carolina has a credit that makes up at least a little for that.
The Palmetto State's two wage earner credit of 0.7 percent of the lower spousal income amount can be claimed by a dual earning married couple that files jointly.
The instruction booklet for the SC1040 tax return has a brief worksheet for couples to compute their earned income. Be sure to use it. Certain adjustments from South Carolina earned income must be subtracted from the incomes. And take note that gambling or bingo winnings reported on federal form W-2G don't count when calculating your state earned income.
When you get the final earnings amount for each spouse, multiple that figure by 0.7 percent and that's the credit you can claim. Eligible earnings of $20,000, for example, will shave $140 off a married couple's tax bill.
This credit is nonrefundable, so it will only help you get your South Carolina tax bill down to zero, not get you tax cash back. But owing no tax is definitely good.
Tax trip around the United States: This post is part of our series highlighting tax information from the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. You can read other state tax blurbs at our Complete menu of tasty state tax tidbits.
The State Tax Departments page provides links to official state and District of Columbia revenue Web sites so that you can find out more about your home's tax laws and filing requirements.
As we work through the 2010 tax season, a different state will be featured each day as noted in Don't forget your state taxes! Check back to see what tax tidbit we share about your home.
Related posts:
Want to tell your friends about this blog post? Click the Tweet This or Digg This buttons below or use the Share This icon to spread the word via e-mail, Facebook and other popular applications. Thanks!
SC DMV Practice Tests
In due course, wise decision taken by South Carolina Tax Department. It is a bit headache for married couples to pay tax for the two sources of income. Well written! Keep posting.
-Reno