The common belief is that a Married couple pays less in income taxes than two separate singles. Is this true?
Sadly, this is not. A married couple pays more income tax in the United States because they are married. The combined income of the couple may cause both to be taxed at a higher rate than is they were two singles, filing separately.
How to save a dollar and still get married? You can at least for one year. Get married at the beginning of a year. Why? No matter what time of your you get married, you get taxed for the whole year! In my case, we got married in November. Had we waited until January, we would have saved a couple thousand dollars on the previous year's worth of income taxes. Future years? No such luck.
Want another tip? Watch out for the alternative minimum tax. This came about because of the annual battle cry, "Rich people don't pay their fair share of taxes!" But how much money defines you as rich instead of a HENRY? (High Earner Not Rich Yet)? This is $175,000 a year for a single person. It is $300,000 for a married couple. Meaning, if you are two married professionals making over $150,000 each, you are rich and must be punished. For example, you no longer get a tax deduction for your children.
Do rich people really pay less in taxes than the average person? There certainly are individuals that one can shake a finger at. But rich people as a whole? According to CNN.money.com, 70% of income taxes collected by the government comes from the top 10% of the county's earners. So as a whole, the rich indeed do carry most of the tax burden.
Sadly, this is not. A married couple pays more income tax in the United States because they are married. The combined income of the couple may cause both to be taxed at a higher rate than is they were two singles, filing separately.
How to save a dollar and still get married? You can at least for one year. Get married at the beginning of a year. Why? No matter what time of your you get married, you get taxed for the whole year! In my case, we got married in November. Had we waited until January, we would have saved a couple thousand dollars on the previous year's worth of income taxes. Future years? No such luck.
Want another tip? Watch out for the alternative minimum tax. This came about because of the annual battle cry, "Rich people don't pay their fair share of taxes!" But how much money defines you as rich instead of a HENRY? (High Earner Not Rich Yet)? This is $175,000 a year for a single person. It is $300,000 for a married couple. Meaning, if you are two married professionals making over $150,000 each, you are rich and must be punished. For example, you no longer get a tax deduction for your children.
Do rich people really pay less in taxes than the average person? There certainly are individuals that one can shake a finger at. But rich people as a whole? According to CNN.money.com, 70% of income taxes collected by the government comes from the top 10% of the county's earners. So as a whole, the rich indeed do carry most of the tax burden.
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