why is marriage costly?

i was just sitting doing my taxes, and i inputted as if my fiance and i were married, just to see what difference it would make, and i would have gotten $4000 less! we live together, raise children together, and are everything EXCEPT legally married. This is ludacris- why does the government want to penalize people for being married?

I read a while back that with all of the breaks to various people, the tax codes ends up penalizing others. I can't see a reason why Congress would intentionally target married couples. There are also breaks for certain businesses, situations etc. What happens is that there are unintended consequences for people who aren't in the specific groups targeted. I thought the marraige penalty was gone, I guess they didn't get around to it yet.

They haven't totally repealed the marriage penalty. I think it is being done gradually. I know it will take a few more years before it is completely gone.

They are going to send millions of dollars to promote marraige this year yet they are still penializing married couples.. what sort of government genius came up with that???

Could it be that when you combined your incomes you put yourselves in a higher tax bracket than if you filed separately?

Just a thought.

That's why Pres Bush and the Republicans are trying to phase out the marriage penalty. Also, if you end up having kids you get extra deductions and exemptions. You can also file married filing separately. I'm a stay at home mom so we have always just had one income.

You think marriage is expensive...wait till you have children!

we have 2 children

Linda's right - what happens is that when you add two incomes together, that throws you into a higher tax bracket.

They started trying to phase in an adjustment for this "marriage penalty" under the Clinton administration, but it's going to be almost impossible to fully get rid of it.

When DH and I were talking about getting married (after living together for 16 years - we didn't want to rush into anything), that was one of the things that we took into account. But there was something else - I'm self-employed and was paying a lot for health insurance. DH works for a large company and they subsidize health insurance. Even with paying more in taxes, we saved money because of the big difference in health insurance!

well actually, i hadnt even started his taxes, only put in mine. so how could i be in a higher bracket if i didnt even enter his earnings. the only difference was instead of heald of household, i entered married, just out of curiosity, and boom there would have gone my money.

I've heard of couples who divorce just to get the tax breaks!! Something is wrong with our government's thinking!

Ah, if you usually file as "head of household," that's a different tax rate than single or married.

Originally Posted by Linda Could it be that when you combined your incomes you put yourselves in a higher tax bracket than if you filed separately? Just a thought.

That is still a penalty for being married. If you lived together you could combine your income to live but still pay less taxes. It's irritating.

OMG! I noticed the last post lives in TX. No state taxes! That is so great!

I moved to Manhattan when I married last year! We pay New York State taxes, New York City taxes and to top if off, my husband works in Connecticut, so we pay CT state tax too!
My husband claims we get credit for paying the CT taxes but from what I have studied of our taxes, I find we get SOME credit but not anything to talk about! CT state taxes are more than New York State tax, however, their property tax is lower! It is crazy here!