Financial
Marriage Tax Calculator
Compare filing as two singles versus married filing jointly to see the marriage bonus or penalty.
Inputs
Marriage Tax Calculator
Result
No difference
$0.00
- Total tax as two singles
- $16,228.00
- Total tax married filing jointly
- $16,228.00
How it's calculated
Δ = FedTax_MFJ(inc1+inc2−jointDeduction) − [FedTax_S(inc1−singleDeduction) + FedTax_S(inc2−singleDeduction)]
Common questions
Why does a penalty exist?
Married joint brackets aren't exactly double the single brackets at the top, so two high earners can push more income into a higher bracket when combined.
When is there a bonus?
When one spouse earns much more than the other. Joint filing effectively splits their income across wider joint brackets, cutting the total tax bill.
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