The bachelor tax – what it costs in taxes to be single

List of caveats I can think of:

* 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-...

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.

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?"

Your mileage may vary!

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.

A Federal Tax calculator I made after finding out my tax savings would be $12k if I married my girlfriend.

Tax works differently by country. In many cases there are no mechanism to pool your taxes with your significant other.

If you have to pay NIIT it’s fairly disadvantageous to be married.

My single's tax is approximately two monthly netto salaries per year.

I appreciate this, but now do one for non-traditional, multi-income households.

I’d like solid numbers of how much I’m overpaying to do the work the government refuses to (sheltering folks, ensuring nutritious foodstuffs).

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!

The best thing I have done in my life was get married and have kids. And money has nothing to do with that happiness.

It's about to get even worse: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/birth-rate-trump-baby-bonus-1....

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.

What a terrible UX this site is.

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.