5 Things to Ask Yourself Before Picking Up the Tab for Your Child’s College Education

A financial expert breaks down how to get through tax season unscathed, including how to prep, when to file jointly and the best ways to optimize your refund.

’Tis the season—for taxes. Listen, we know shuffling through IRS forms and deciphering a new tax code is one of the least enticing ways to kick off newlywed life (especially if you just returned from your honeymoon and finally wrapped up thank-you notes). But if you haven’t already, it’s time to get down to business filing your first tax return as a married couple. Have questions? We have answers, thanks to Jeff Motske, president and CEO of Trilogy Financial and author of The Couple's Guide to Financial Compatibility. Here’s what first-time newlyweds need to know this tax season.

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No matter how much you and your partner have in common, investing will uncover differences. Maybe one likes playing it safe while the other relishes risk-taking. One wants to invest every available penny, while the other yearns to live it up now. Or perhaps you disagree on when to retire.

Differences are inevitable, says Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, founder of KBK Wealth Connection in Waitsfield, Vermont. “That’s the nature of a partnership.”

But some couples don’t discover their differences until they fester into conflicts. You can avoid discord by bringing financial topics into the open, finding common ground and compromising.

“Learning how to talk about and work through conflict will make you stronger partners,” says Kingsbury, author of “Breaking Money Silence: How to Shatter Money Taboos, Talk More Openly About Finances, and Live a Richer Life.”

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