See whether getting married would raise or lower your federal income tax, by comparing two single returns with one joint return. Mainly for U.S. taxpayers.
It works out each person's federal income tax as a single filer, using the filing status you choose, and adds the two together. It then works out the tax on a single joint return that combines both incomes, deductions and children. The difference between the two totals is the marriage penalty or bonus. Social Security and Medicare tax, state tax and retirement contributions are shown too, so you can see the effect on take-home pay.
Joint filing helps most when one person earns much more than the other. The lower earner's unused room in the lower brackets is put to work, and the couple can claim credits and deductions that single filers often cannot. Two similar high incomes are more likely to be pushed into a higher bracket together, and some credits and deductions phase out at joint income limits that are not double the single limits.
A marriage penalty means a couple pays more federal income tax on a joint return than the two people would pay as singles. A marriage bonus means they pay less. Couples with very different incomes usually get a bonus, while two high earners are the most likely to face a penalty.
Joint brackets are exactly twice as wide as single brackets up through the 32% rate, but the 35% bracket is narrower for couples. Two very high incomes therefore reach the top rates sooner together than they would apart, and phase-outs for credits and deductions can add to the effect.
Contributions to a 401(k) or similar plan are treated as pre-tax, so they lower federal income tax but not Social Security or Medicare tax. For a self-employed person, the amount is taken as an adjustment to income.
No. It compares two single returns with one joint return, since married filing separately costs more than filing jointly in most cases. Married couples who file separately are also shut out of several credits and deductions.
Mostly not, because each person pays those taxes on their own earnings. The one exception is the 0.9% additional Medicare tax, which starts at $200,000 for a single person but $250,000 for a couple, so it can differ between the two situations.
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