It can be also a married person tax depending on your circumstances. If both spouses make similar amounts then they are getting taxed more as a married couple, because the bracket threshold for a married couple are less than 2x that for an individual.
I don't understand why everyone is not taxed as an individual, regardless of marital status.
A marriage differential is a mathematical consequence of progressive marginal rates and community property (specifically the ability to shift income between spouses).
To put it another way, eliminating the marriage differential[1] in all cases requires giving up progressive marginal rates or community property.
Which one do you want to give up?
[1] The current US brackets and deductions taxes some married couples more than comparable pairs of individuals, taxes some less, and is basically a wash in other cases. It's easy to move couples between the first two groups and you can move some of each to the third, you can't move all of them.
Okay now factor in the probability of divorce, and the amount you get to keep afterwards, and discount it to present value, vs. paying more taxes and keeping it all.
Also remember that you typically lose half of income forever, not just wealth in a divorce.
I don't get it. I keep getting $0. Maybe I'm not using high enough numbers? I used the example of $100k each, or then $100k and $80k, which is on the high side of the median where I live and the single vs. married end up the same.
Zero comments on this linking to diamond rings? Plug in $100,000 and $0, and it suggests some specific diamond rings of roughly that price. I hope that an affiliate link!
It cost me over $3000 to be married on my 2024 taxes.
I used to be able to declare my house, and my parents' house (I own it). Because of these two things, I have been able to itemize my deductions. In 2024, because I got married, the itemized 'threshold' to reach was higher so I had to take the standard deduction, which ended up costing me a lot more in taxes. It's making me ask questions like "is it worth $3000 every year forever to stay married?"
I had the same conundrum. It costs me far more to be married than to not be married because of the itemized deduction loses. I used to be able to itemize about $21k. But now that I'm married, the standard $24k wins out, which means our household went from $33k deductions to $24k, and our effective rate ends up being about 30%, so that's about the $3k your are penalized. Plus state income taxes and county surcharges on income above $200k at 1%.
It makes me terribly sad each and every year. And each and every year I have to reconsume stories about the man that flew his plane into an IRS building, and the guy from NJ that threatened an IRS agent on a voicemail and then called back immediately and apologized but still got 12 months. Every year I make a decision to not throw my life away. And every year it's a really tough decision.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 42.5 ms ] threadTry 500k both
To put it another way, eliminating the marriage differential[1] in all cases requires giving up progressive marginal rates or community property.
Which one do you want to give up?
[1] The current US brackets and deductions taxes some married couples more than comparable pairs of individuals, taxes some less, and is basically a wash in other cases. It's easy to move couples between the first two groups and you can move some of each to the third, you can't move all of them.
I’d like solid numbers of how much I’m overpaying to do the work the government refuses to (sheltering folks, ensuring nutritious foodstuffs).
Don't make me enter the number or click the button every time.
Just give me a slider for both incomes and show me the result right away.
* Covers regular federal income tax only. Does not cover any of the taxes on Schedule 2, nor any state/local taxes.
* Assumes both individuals take the federal standard deduction as Single (not Head of Household).
* Assumes no other credits or deductions.
As a result, this can potentially understate marriage penalties for dual-income couples with kids.
https://taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-are-marriage-...
I used to be able to declare my house, and my parents' house (I own it). Because of these two things, I have been able to itemize my deductions. In 2024, because I got married, the itemized 'threshold' to reach was higher so I had to take the standard deduction, which ended up costing me a lot more in taxes. It's making me ask questions like "is it worth $3000 every year forever to stay married?"
Your mileage may vary!
It makes me terribly sad each and every year. And each and every year I have to reconsume stories about the man that flew his plane into an IRS building, and the guy from NJ that threatened an IRS agent on a voicemail and then called back immediately and apologized but still got 12 months. Every year I make a decision to not throw my life away. And every year it's a really tough decision.