Graduated Tax System: The Marriage Penalty Is Alive And Well

The Marriage Penalty Is Alive And Well

Despite what you may think, the marriage penalty is still alive and well. Whether you’re changing your filing status in 2022 because of marriage, divorce or another event (or even if your filing status staying the same), you should review this information and plan accordingly.

What is the marriage penalty?
The marriage penalty occurs when the dollar ranges for married taxpayers (joint filers) are not exactly double the dollar ranges for single taxpayers. It results from the way the graduated tax rate system works, based on your tax filing status and other tax return items. Married taxpayers are often taxed more than they’d be as two single filers.

Situations Subject To The Marriage Penalty
• Both spouses with high incomes. A disparity for the dollar ranges still exists for the two top tax brackets of 35 percent and 37 percent. That means that the marriage penalty often applies to high-income couples. Wealthy couples may save money by avoiding a marriage certificate! For example, Riley’s taxable income was $400,000 per year, while Avery’s annual taxable income came in at $300,000. Before getting married, Riley’s tax bill using the 2022 tax brackets would be $113,753 using a single filing status, while Avery’s tax bill would be $78,753, for a combined tax liability of $192,506. Once they marry, Riley and Avery would have a tax bill of $193,549 using married filing joint tax brackets.

• Local taxes over $10,000. Legislation also limits the annual deduction for state and local tax (SALT) payments to $10,000. This limit is the same for a married couple as a single taxpayer. For instance, assume that a couple pays $25,000 in property taxes in 2022. As joint filers, their deduction is limited to $10,000, whereas they could write off a total of $20,000 if they were both single filers.

Tax-Planning Opportunity
While no one is saying you should get married or divorced because of the marriage penalty, factoring it into your tax planning can make a big difference. Please call if you wish to review your situation.

have a question? Contact Gary Carter, CW Carter Limited.

Attribution to Gary Carter Newsletter Author

Gary Carter, President of GW Carter, Ltd., was a tax professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and the Associate Director of the Carlson School’s Master of Business Taxation Program until June, 2010. He received a B.A. in accounting from Eastern Washington University in 1977, a Master of Taxation degree from the University of Denver in 1980, and a Ph.D. in taxation from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. Early in his career he worked as a revenue agent for the State of Alaska, and later in public accounting for both a regional CPA firm and a Big Four Firm. His current practice was started in 1999. He has conducted tax seminars on various tax topics and has published several books on taxation.

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