tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13259011.post926732613305950397..comments2023-12-14T07:05:21.979-08:00Comments on Chief Family Officer: The Return of the Marriage Penalty?Chief Family Officerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02320154821990804327noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13259011.post-83038982540369967812009-03-26T18:51:00.000-07:002009-03-26T18:51:00.000-07:00It does seem unfair. In Malaysia, married couples ...It does seem unfair. In Malaysia, married couples have a choice of filing separate or joint returns. So we have an avenue to reduce the "marriage penalty".<BR/><BR/>But then which part of income tax is fair?<BR/><BR/>RegardsFather Sezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06123124877638945944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13259011.post-20675976959835853252009-03-17T08:29:00.000-07:002009-03-17T08:29:00.000-07:00This is a complex situation and I think you'd bett...This is a complex situation and I think you'd better serve your readers by not getting too political. (AKA "re-distribution of wealth). <BR/><BR/>I'm a single guy in my 20s making about $80K.<BR/><BR/>My finance makes $40k. <BR/><BR/>Right now, IIRC, about 30k of my income is taxed in the 25% bracket. <BR/><BR/>And again, IIRC, if we were to get married, filing jointly a $120k tax return, only 20k of our income would be in the 25% braket. <BR/><BR/>But it's more complex, if I were to be making $120k myself and she stays home without making a dime, we'd pay less taxes than we do jointly because of our non-progressive Fica tax. <BR/>In that case, the last $20+k of my income wouldn't be subject to Fica. <BR/><BR/>I Just thank god I live in Florida: No state or local income tax!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13259011.post-17312853687300687802009-03-16T16:24:00.000-07:002009-03-16T16:24:00.000-07:00This debate has been going on since the 1969 when ...This debate has been going on since the 1969 when the first battle of married-vs-single tax bills was fought (couples had the edge back then) and will no doubt continue. This story, though a few years old, has some good basic info: http://budurl.com/cv9z<BR/><BR/>Tax law changes since 2001 (and in effect through 2010) have eased the possible marriage tax penalty. The standard tax deduction for joint filers is now double that of a single taxpayer. More important, the maximum income in 10 percent and 15 percent tax brackets for joint filers is now double that of a single filer. That effectively means that couples in these brackets are taxed as if they were still single taxpayers.<BR/><BR/>Despite the changes, some couples still could face a bit of marriage penalty. This occurs when their combined earnings push them into the four higher brackets (25 percent, 28 percent, 33 percent and 35 percent), where the income amounts are not strictly doubled.<BR/><BR/>And some couples actually enjoy a marriage bonus. This is often the case when there is a large difference between a husband's and wife's incomes. <BR/><BR/>You can read more about all sorts of marriage and tax connections in this excerpt from my book: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/news/20090218-marriage-taxes-a1.asp?caret=5oAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13259011.post-78294079510508126932009-03-11T17:48:00.000-07:002009-03-11T17:48:00.000-07:00I also wasn't married before the change in the tax...I also wasn't married before the change in the tax system, but I would hate to see it come back! I think when you "punish" people for getting married then you tear apart the moral fabric of our society. I really don't get why you would tax married people more than a single person.Camillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07665568491378947842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13259011.post-47543886156596317952009-03-11T11:55:00.000-07:002009-03-11T11:55:00.000-07:00They should take into account what the needs are t...They should take into account what the needs are these days- more than one income to provide for families so it should be the equivalent of two single people when they want to figure how much tax. I don't like this idea at all- I wasn't married before the Bush tax cuts, but I don't want to find out now what it was like before that.Testinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13749517105568469552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13259011.post-49762370928905335322009-03-11T11:42:00.000-07:002009-03-11T11:42:00.000-07:00I also am against the marriage penalty. Like you,...I also am against the marriage penalty. Like you, when we were first married, we owed taxes rather than the refund we would have gotten normally. It seems like when you have a marriage penalty, the government is encouraging couples NOT to get married, since it's less expensive to live together (at least for tax purposes). I really hope that President Obama and Congress leave that alone (as well as the child tax credit...but that's for mostly selfish reasons :-) ).Corrie at "Cents"able Mommahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16156997868428556144noreply@blogger.com