Marriage

[m0m0]

My partner and I are considering getting married to (we are assuming) owe less taxes next year. We earn a very modest salary (around 25,000) and live in California so we are running check by check. I have barely worked at all since the end of 2023. My partner, however, has to owe $1,300 in taxes for not enough being withheld last year and we are wondering if we should start setting aside money from his check in anticipation for not enough being withheld this year but we really NEED that money for rent/gas. Would it be advantageous to get married? What are the circumstances in which married coupes file together and/or separately? 

[Vanessa A]

It really depends.

If you are each earning around $25,000 a year and have no dependents, then getting married is not going to affect you one way or the other.  

If one of you have a dependent and the other does not, then you may end up slightly in a worse position as then for 2024 the one with the dependent would have a federal standard deduction of $21,400 while the other one would have a standard deduction of $14,600.  So you would be in a slightly worse position.

If one of you earn $10,000 and the other earns $25,000, then you would be in a better position as you would have a standard deduction of $29,200 which means your taxable income would be $5,800.  In this case you would make out better.

Overall, there is not a giant tax break for married couples.  You are basically combining your income and combining your standard deduction.  You do not get extra credits or deductions for just being married.