joint return

Joint Return

A tax return filed on behalf of both the husband and wife, resulting in a combined tax liability.

Investopedia Commentary

In most cases, filing a joint return results in a lower tax liability than filing separately would.

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See also: Filing Status, Head of Household, Income Tax, Internal Revenue Service - IRS, Marital Deduction, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Single, Tax Liability

joint return

A single income-tax return filed commonly by a husband and wife. In a joint return, the tax liability is calculated on the premise that each spouse has contributed equally to the reported income. A joint return is especially advantageous for couples in which one spouse has considerably more taxable income than the other spouse. Compare separate return.