2026 tax year
Marriage tax calculator
Does saying "I do" save you money or cost you? It depends almost entirely on how alike your two incomes are.
The tax code treats a married couple as one unit, and the married-filing-jointly brackets are wider than the single brackets but not always twice as wide. Two similar incomes can spill into a higher rate once combined, a marriage penalty. One large and one small income spreads across the wider joint brackets, a marriage bonus. This compares your total federal and state income tax both ways.
Enter both incomes and press Compare.
Worked example, a marriage bonus: $180,000 and $20,000
In Texas (no state income tax, so this is a pure federal-bracket effect), a filer earning $180,000 marries one earning $20,000, with one child:
| Scenario | Total tax | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Two single filers | $45,424 | 22.7% |
| Married filing jointly | $39,440 | 19.7% |
Marriage saves this couple $5,984 a year. The lower earner's income effectively fills the bottom joint brackets, so more of the higher earner's income is taxed at lower rates than it was on a single return.
Worked example, a marriage penalty: $300,000 and $280,000
Two high, near-equal incomes in New York, with two children, go the other way:
| Scenario | Total tax | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Two single filers | $196,274 | 33.8% |
| Married filing jointly | $198,891 | 34.3% |
Here marriage costs $2,617 a year. At these incomes the top joint brackets are narrower than two single brackets stacked, so combining pushes income into a higher rate. And New York's own progressive brackets add to it.
Questions
Why does marriage sometimes raise my taxes?
Because the joint brackets are not twice as wide as the single brackets at the top. When two people with similar incomes marry, their combined income fills the lower brackets faster and spills into higher marginal rates. It mostly bites high, evenly-matched earners.
When is there a marriage bonus?
When one spouse earns much more than the other. The smaller income fills the bottom joint brackets, so the larger income is spread across the full width of the joint brackets and taxed at lower rates than on a single return. A single-earner couple gets the biggest bonus.
Does the standard deduction cause a penalty?
No. In 2026 the joint standard deduction ($32,200) is exactly double the single one ($16,100), so the deduction itself is neutral. The whole penalty or bonus comes from the bracket widths.
Do state taxes matter?
Yes. States with progressive brackets (California, New York) create their own marriage penalties on top of the federal one. Flat-rate states (Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado, North Carolina) are neutral, and no-income-tax states leave only the federal effect. The calculator applies your state's 2026 rules.
Should we file separately to dodge the penalty?
Almost never. Married filing separately disallows or limits the QBI deduction, the earned income credit, education credits, ACA subsidies, Roth IRA contributions and the student-loan-interest deduction. It rarely beats a small marriage penalty. The lever that does help is maxing pre-tax 401(k) and HSA contributions.
Related tools
- Paycheck calculator take-home for one earner
- W-4 withholding calculator why two-income couples often owe
- Multi-state tax calculator income across states
Estimate for the 2026 tax year comparing federal and state income tax plus FICA. FICA is identical either way. Not tax advice.