{
  "id": "marriage-tax",
  "version": "f768c8c993de",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Marriage Tax Calculator",
  "question": "Is there a marriage tax penalty for us?",
  "summary": "Compares a couple’s 2026 federal tax as two unmarried filers with their tax married filing jointly, from each partner’s wages and children, and shows the marriage penalty or bonus.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "tax-and-pay",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/marriage-tax-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/marriage-tax-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "Unmarried: each partner files a 2026 Form 1040 as single, or as head of household with their own children under 17, with their own wages. Married: one Form 1040, married filing jointly, with both wages and all the children. Each return: standard deduction, Tax Table or rate schedule, child tax credit and its refundable part, earned income credit, Additional Medicare Tax. Change = joint tax − (your tax + partner’s tax).",
  "assumptions": [
    "Tax year 2026 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), not tax advice. Wages are the only income; both take the standard deduction.",
    "An unmarried partner with a child under 17 living with them files as head of household (they pay more than half the cost of the home) and claims the child; married, all the children go on the joint return.",
    "With no qualifying child, the earned income credit needs an age of 25 to 64; each partner is taken to meet it. State tax is not included."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "w1": {
        "title": "Your wages",
        "description": "Your 2026 W-2 wages (box 1).",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 100000000
      },
      "w2": {
        "title": "Partner’s wages",
        "description": "Your partner’s 2026 W-2 wages (box 1).",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 100000000
      },
      "k1": {
        "title": "Your children under 17",
        "description": "Qualifying children under 17 who live with you and whom you would claim if unmarried.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 20
      },
      "k2": {
        "title": "Partner’s children under 17",
        "description": "Qualifying children under 17 who live with your partner and whom they would claim if unmarried.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 20
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "change": {
      "label": "Change from marrying",
      "description": "Tax married filing jointly − the two unmarried returns: above $0 a marriage penalty, below a bonus.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "verdict": {
      "label": "Result",
      "description": "Marriage penalty, marriage bonus, or no change.",
      "format": "text"
    },
    "married": {
      "label": "Tax married filing jointly",
      "description": "Federal tax after credits on one joint return with both wages and all the children.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "unmarried": {
      "label": "Tax as two unmarried filers",
      "description": "Your return plus your partner’s return.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "tax1": {
      "label": "Your unmarried return",
      "description": "Your federal tax after credits.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "tax2": {
      "label": "Partner’s unmarried return",
      "description": "Your partner’s federal tax after credits.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "status1": {
      "label": "Your filing status if unmarried",
      "description": "Single or head of household.",
      "format": "text"
    },
    "status2": {
      "label": "Partner’s filing status if unmarried",
      "description": "Single or head of household.",
      "format": "text"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "w1": 80000,
      "w2": 40000,
      "k1": 0,
      "k2": 0
    },
    "outputs": {
      "change": -1356,
      "verdict": "Marriage bonus",
      "married": 10043,
      "unmarried": 11399,
      "tax1": 8776,
      "tax2": 2623,
      "status1": "Single",
      "status2": "Single"
    },
    "text": "Married filing jointly costs $10,043.00 against $11,399.00 as two unmarried filers: a change of −$1,356.00."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "w1": 80000,
        "w2": 40000
      },
      "expect": {
        "tax1": 8776,
        "tax2": 2623,
        "unmarried": 11399,
        "married": 10043,
        "change": -1356,
        "verdict": "Marriage bonus"
      },
      "source": "IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRB 2025-45): 2026 rate tables (section 4.01), standard deductions (4.14), child tax credit (4.05), earned income credit (4.06), https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB; Tax Table rows: single $63,900 gives $8,776, $23,900 gives $2,623, joint $87,800 gives $10,043; hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-128/xcheck.py"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "w1": 60000,
        "w2": 60000
      },
      "expect": {
        "tax1": 5023,
        "unmarried": 10046,
        "married": 10043,
        "change": -3
      },
      "source": "IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRB 2025-45): 2026 rate tables (section 4.01), standard deductions (4.14), child tax credit (4.05), earned income credit (4.06), https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB; hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-128/xcheck.py"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "w1": 300000,
        "w2": 300000
      },
      "expect": {
        "tax1": 69034.25,
        "unmarried": 138068.5,
        "married": 139418.5,
        "change": 1350,
        "verdict": "Marriage penalty"
      },
      "source": "IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRB 2025-45): 2026 rate tables (section 4.01), standard deductions (4.14), child tax credit (4.05), earned income credit (4.06), https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB; IRS, Instructions for Form 8959 (2025) (0.9% over $200,000 single, $250,000 joint), https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8959; hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-128/xcheck.py"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "w1": 700000,
        "w2": 700000
      },
      "expect": {
        "tax1": 213500.25,
        "married": 438600.5,
        "change": 11600
      },
      "source": "IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRB 2025-45): 2026 rate tables (section 4.01), standard deductions (4.14), child tax credit (4.05), earned income credit (4.06), https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB (Tables 1 and 3); IRS, Instructions for Form 8959 (2025); hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-128/xcheck.py"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "w1": 40000,
        "w2": 40000,
        "k1": 2
      },
      "expect": {
        "tax1": -6730,
        "tax2": 2623,
        "unmarried": -4107,
        "married": 843,
        "change": 4950,
        "status1": "Head of household"
      },
      "source": "IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRB 2025-45): 2026 rate tables (section 4.01), standard deductions (4.14), child tax credit (4.05), earned income credit (4.06), https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB (head of household brackets and $24,150 deduction; $2,200 child tax credit, $1,700 refundable; earned income credit table amounts); hand calculation in content.mdx; Python 3 check in docs/progress/WP-128/xcheck.py"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-45), section 4.01 Tables 1 to 3 (2026 rates for married filing jointly, heads of households, unmarried individuals), section 4.05 (child tax credit, $1,700 refundable), section 4.06 (earned income credit amounts), section 4.14 (standard deduction $32,200, $24,150, $16,100). https://www.irs.gov/irb/2025-45_IRB (retrieved 2026-10-18)",
    "IRS, Publication 501 (2025), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information: marital status is determined on December 31; head of household requirements. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501 (retrieved 2026-10-18)",
    "IRS, Instructions for Form 8959 (2025), Additional Medicare Tax: 0.9% of Medicare wages over $250,000 married filing jointly and $200,000 single, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse; the thresholds are not indexed for inflation. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8959 (retrieved 2026-10-18)",
    "IRS, 2025 Tax Table (Instructions for Form 1040): rows of $0 to $5, $5 to $15 and $15 to $25, then $25 rows to $3,000 and $50 rows from $3,000 to $100,000 (single, $1,000 to $1,025 shows $101); $100,000 or over uses the Tax Computation Worksheet. The 2026 table is not out yet. https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040tt (retrieved 2026-10-18)",
    "IRS, Instructions for Schedule 8812 (2025): Part II-B for three or more qualifying children, line 21 (social security and Medicare taxes withheld, Form W-2 boxes 4 and 6); Credit Limit Worksheet B lines 5 to 13 (the larger of 15% of earned income over $2,500 and those taxes less the earned income credit, Form 1040 line 27a; $1,700 a child). https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040s8 (retrieved 2026-10-18)"
  ],
  "related": [
    "married-filing-jointly-vs-separately",
    "income-tax",
    "tax-bracket",
    "child-tax-credit",
    "earned-income-credit"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}