Tax Benefits of Marriage: How Getting Married Can Change Your Taxes 

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Marriage can create tax benefits by potentially lowering your tax bracket, changing your deductions and helping you qualify for additional tax credits. But how marriage impacts your taxes depends on your specific situation, and getting married doesn’t result in tax benefits for everyone.

Before you tie the knot, knowing how marriage could impact your taxes can help you prepare for any changes that you might see. This article explains when marriage helps your taxes, when it doesn’t and why, so you know what to expect.

What Are the Tax Benefits of Marriage?

Marriage may come with several common tax benefits that could help reduce your tax responsibility.

Filing Jointly vs. Filing Separately: Why Filing Status Matters

The filing status you choose can affect your tax obligation, but consider which option is best for your lifestyle and financial situation. Choosing a filing status is often less about maximizing your refunds and more about minimizing your risk or loan repayment obligations.

Married Filing Jointly 

Choosing married and filing jointly means you and your spouse will combine your incomes, deductions and credits, paying one tax return and one tax rate. Filing jointly may help you get a higher standard deduction, which can reduce your taxable income.

This filing status also comes with wider tax brackets, so you and your spouse could potentially still fall into a lower tax bracket with a lower tax rate. If either you or your spouse have a higher income and file separately, that income could put you into a higher tax bracket, meaning you’d pay a higher tax rate. If you file jointly and remain in a lower tax bracket, you may also have access to more tax credits to reduce your tax burden.

Married Filing Separately 

Married filing separately, in which you and your spouse separate your income and each file your own tax returns, may work well for certain situations but not others. When you separate your tax returns, you’ll generally pay a higher tax rate and ultimately pay more taxes.

Filing separately often disqualifies you from some tax deductions and credits that you might receive when you’re married, but it can make sense in certain situations:

• Student loans: If you’re paying student loans on an income-driven repayment plan, filing separately will reflect just your income, which can help keep your required payment amounts down.
• Medical debt: If you have large amounts of medical debt, filing separately could help you reach the 7.5% threshold of your adjusted gross income needed to deduct your medical expenses from your taxes.
• Getting divorced or separated: If you’re planning to get divorced or separated, filing separately can help you and your spouse avoid any shared tax liabilities.  

Higher Standard Deduction and More Favorable Tax Brackets

According to the IRS, married couples filing jointly get a combined standard deduction of $30,000 for 2025, which is double the standard deduction of $15,000 for individuals. The tax brackets are wider, too, meaning you and your spouse can make more before you’re bumped into a higher tax bracket with a higher tax rate.

This benefit matters most for couples with uneven incomes.

For Example

Say that you earn $90,000 per year and your spouse earns $50,000 per year. As a single filer, you would fall into the 22% tax bracket, meaning you’d pay a combination of 10%, 12% and 22% taxes on your income. Once you make $103,351, you would move up to the 24% tax bracket.

When you file jointly with your spouse, that 22% tax bracket is wider — you could make a combined $206,700 before moving up to the 24% tax bracket, giving you more income flexibility.

The higher standard deduction and more favorable tax brackets tend to benefit single-income or uneven-income households more, since they allow substantial income increases before couples must pay higher taxes on their income. Dual high earners with comparable incomes may see little change in their taxes due to these benefits.  

Tax Credits Married Couples May Qualify For

When you’re married, you may qualify for new or increased tax credits that can reduce your tax burden.

Credits That Can Increase After Marriage

Just as married couples enjoy a larger standard deduction, they may qualify for increased limits on certain tax credits:

Child Tax Credit

According to the IRS, the Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child. To qualify for the full credit as an individual, your income can’t exceed $200,000. If you’re filing a joint return as a married couple, that income limit increases to $400,000.

Earned Income Tax Credit

Low- and moderate-income families can get a tax break with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). To qualify, you must earn no more than the maximum income limit for your family type, and that limit increases when you’re married filing jointly.

Child and Dependent Care Credit

With the Child and Dependent Care Credit (CDCC), you can receive a credit for part of your childcare costs that you had to pay to work. According to the IRS, married persons must generally file a joint return to claim the credit.

Credits With Income Phaseouts

Some tax credits, like the Child Tax Credit and the Child and Earned Income Tax Credit, have income phaseouts; once your income reaches a certain point, your credit will be reduced until it’s eventually eliminated. In some cases, getting married and combining your income with your spouse’s can reduce or eliminate your eligibility for these credits.  

Marriage Can Reduce Estate and Gift Taxes

Many couples overlook the fact that marriage can reduce estate and gift taxes. The unlimited marital deduction allows a spouse to give the other spouse an unlimited amount of assets without being responsible for any gift tax liability.

That deduction applies throughout the marriage’s duration, but it also applies at death, protecting a spouse from having to pay taxes on their inherited estate. A surviving spouse can defer paying taxes on their inheritance until their death; the estate will only be taxed when the surviving spouse dies.

These estate and gift tax benefits can be highly valuable for couples as they plan their estate. Couples can avoid or defer taxes, preserving the value of their assets.  

When Marriage Can Increase Your Taxes

Marriage may provide tax benefits, but it’s not a universal tax win. Depending on your financial situation, getting married might actually increase your taxes.

High-Income Dual Earners

The lower tax brackets become wider as you get married, but the top combined tax brackets are narrower. If you and your spouse are both high-income earners, your combined income could potentially push you up into a higher tax bracket, increasing your tax rate.

Credit and Deduction Phaseouts

While some tax credit qualifications increase for married couples, others decrease. The State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction is one example. According to Fidelity, single filers can claim the full $40,000 SALT deduction, but state tax brackets might not double for married filers; your SALT deduction could decrease if you’re married and file jointly.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is another example. If you’re married filing jointly, your tax credit amount will be reduced if your modified adjusted gross income is over $160,000 but less than $180,000, according to the IRS. You won’t be able to claim the AOTC at all if your modified adjusted gross income is over $180,000.

Marriage also limits how much of your IRA contributions you can deduct from your taxes. According to Charles Schwab, if you’re filing single and under age 50, you can receive a full deduction on your IRA contribution if your modified adjusted gross income is $79,000 or less. However, couple under age 50 will only qualify for that same deduction if their modified adjusted gross income is $126,000 or less. In these scenarios, being married can reduce your credits and deductions.  

Other Tax Considerations Couples Often Miss

Couples also often overlook other important tax considerations that come with marriage:

• Combining itemized deductions: If you file married filing jointly, you can combine your deductions. You’ll have the option to take whichever’s larger, either the standard deduction or your combined itemized deductions, to help lower your tax bill.
• Health insurance tax implications: If your employer contributes to your spouse’s health insurance premiums on your plan, those contributions aren’t part of your taxable income. You may also be able to use payroll deductions to pay for your and your spouse’s insurance with pre-tax funds, reducing your tax responsibility.  
• Capital gains exclusions for home sales: If your home has increased in value, you may be able to exclude capital gains from your sales tax. According to the IRS, you can exclude up to $250,000 of the gain when filing single, and up to $500,000 of the gain if you’re married and file a joint return.
• Responsibility for spouse’s past tax issues: You’re generally not automatically responsible for any tax debts your spouse owes from before your marriage. Once you marry, though, if you file jointly, you and your spouse will both be responsible for the entire tax year’s liability. Specific laws vary depending on your state and situation. If you have any concerns about a spouse’s tax issues, consult a tax professional.  

How To Decide If Marriage Will Help or Hurt Your Taxes  

Marriage can potentially help or hurt your taxes depending on factors like your income, debts, tax credits and more. To decide if marriage might help or hurt your taxes, you can start with this checklist:

• Compare incomes: Compare your incomes, review which tax brackets you currently fall into and determine how marrying and filing jointly might affect your tax bracket.
• Review deductions and debts: Make a list of your and your significant other’s deductions and debts. Consider whether marrying and filing jointly might affect debts, like an income-based student loan program, or any deductions you currently receive.  
• Consider timing: The IRS considers couples who are married by Dec. 31 to have been married for the full year, so remember that your decisions will impact your tax return for all of 2025.   
• Run projections before filing: To decide if it makes sense to file single or jointly, run some projections. Pay attention to how each option affects your qualification for tax credits and deductions, as well as how it might impact your tax bracket.

The checklist can give you an idea of what to expect if you get married, but it’s always best to meet with a tax professional to confirm this information.

Bottom Line: Is Marriage a Tax Advantage?

Marriage can change your taxes, sometimes positively, and sometimes not. How marriage affects your taxes will vary depending on everything from your income to your tax credits and how you decide to file.

Since marriage can have such a major effect on your taxes, it’s important to understand the rules, rather than to make assumptions. Don’t hesitate to consult with a tax professional, since they can evaluate your past returns and provide advice tailored to your unique situation.

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