Marriage Tax Calculator
Will getting married raise or lower your taxes? Enter both incomes — see your marriage penalty or bonus with 2026 federal brackets, Additional Medicare, CTC, and EITC. Includes MFJ vs MFS comparison and income split explorer.
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How to Use This Calculator
Marriage Tax Impact tab
The default tab. Enter each person’s income and number of children. The calculator compares your total federal tax as two single filers vs married filing jointly. The result shows your marriage penalty (you pay more) or marriage bonus (you pay less) — with a full breakdown of brackets, credits, and surtaxes.
Optimal Filing Strategy tab
For already-married couples. Compares MFJ vs MFS (Married Filing Separately) with a full accounting of what you lose by filing separately: student loan deduction, education credits, EITC, Roth IRA contributions, and higher bracket entry. Check the boxes for student loans, education expenses, and Roth contributions to see specific warnings.
Income Split Explorer tab
Enter your combined household income and adjust the split between spouses. See how the penalty or bonus changes as the split changes. Quick buttons (50/50, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, 100/0) show common scenarios. Same total income, completely different tax outcome.
Share your result
Every input is encoded in the URL. Click Share to send your exact scenario to your partner, financial advisor, or tax preparer.
The Formula
The marriage tax penalty or bonus is the difference between two tax scenarios:
Tax(MFJ, combined income) − [Tax(Single, Person 1) + Tax(Single, Person 2)]
If positive: Marriage penalty — you pay more as a couple
If negative: Marriage bonus — you save money by marrying
Where each Tax() includes:
Federal income tax (progressive brackets)
+ Additional Medicare (0.9% above threshold)
− Child Tax Credit ($2,200/child)
− EITC (if eligible)
Key thresholds (2026):
Standard deduction: Single $16,100 / MFJ $32,200 (2×, no penalty)
35% bracket: Single $640,600 / MFJ $768,700 (NOT 2× — PENALTY)
Additional Medicare: Single $200K / MFJ $250K (NOT 2×)
NIIT: Single $200K / MFJ $250K (NOT 2×, not indexed)
The marriage penalty exists when MFJ thresholds are less than double the Single thresholds. OBBBA (2025) fixed this for brackets 10%–32% by exactly doubling them. But the 35% bracket, NIIT, and Additional Medicare still create penalties for high earners.
Examples
Alex ($85K) & Sam ($65K) — typical couple, no kids
Alex earns $85,000 and Sam earns $65,000. Both under 40, no children, no investment income. Combined: $150,000.
Marriage Tax Impact
At these incomes, all brackets are exactly doubled for MFJ. Neither earner triggers surtaxes. No penalty, no bonus. OBBBA eliminated the marriage penalty for most couples in the 10%–32% brackets.
Alex ($250K) & Sam ($250K) — dual high earners
Now both earn $250,000. Combined $500,000. No children.
Marriage Tax Impact
The penalty comes from the Additional Medicare tax: as singles, each is above $200K by $50K (0.9% × $50K = $450 each = $900 total). As MFJ, they’re above $250K by $250K (0.9% × $250K = $2,250). That’s a $1,350 Medicare penalty. The bracket penalty is minimal at this income — both are still in the 32% bracket whether single or MFJ.
SALT impact: As singles, each gets a $40,400 SALT cap ($80,800 combined). As MFJ, one $40,400 cap. If they live in a high-tax state like California or New York, that’s an additional $40,400 less in potential SALT deductions.
Jordan ($150K) & Taylor ($30K) — one high earner, 1 child
Jordan earns $150,000 and Taylor earns $30,000 part-time. One child under 17. Combined: $180,000.
Marriage Tax Impact
The income-averaging effect pulls Jordan’s top dollars out of the 24% bracket and into the 22% bracket. CTC ($2,200) is the same either way. The bonus comes entirely from bracket smoothing. One high earner + one low earner = maximum bonus zone.
What You Lose by Filing Separately (MFS)
Married Filing Separately is almost always worse than MFJ. Here’s what MFS costs you:
| Feature | MFJ | MFS |
|---|---|---|
| Student loan interest deduction | Up to $2,500 | $0 |
| AOTC education credit | Up to $2,500 | $0 |
| LLC education credit | Up to $3,000 | $0 |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Up to $8,231 | $0 |
| Roth IRA phase-out | $242K–$252K | $0–$10K |
| SALT deduction cap | $40,400 | $20,200 each |
| 37% bracket starts at | $768,700 | $384,350 |
| CTC phase-out starts | $400,000 | $200,000 |
When MFS makes sense: (1) Income-driven student loan repayment — MFS lowers your individual AGI, reducing IBR/PAYE/SAVE payments. (2) One spouse has large medical expenses — the 7.5% AGI floor is lower with one income. (3) Innocent spouse protection.