Should I get married this year?

[JJR3o5]

Hello everyone,

I got engaged this past month and we were wondering if it would be more beneficial for us tax wise to get married before the end of the year or wait until next year to get married.

Relevant information:

- My total income will likely be under $157,500.
- I own a home and it’s under my name only.
- Her total income will likely be under $29,000.
- We had a baby in February.
- Apart from her county job as a school psychologist, she has a private practice but has not seen any clients nor made any money from it this year.

If I am leaving anything out that may be pertinent, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Carl]

If you're basing a decision to get married on money, then maybe you want to re-think that and determine your *real* reason for proposing in the first place. This is a financial and tax support forum. We are not qualified to give marriage advice. I would suggest you both talk with each other and if necessary seek counseling before jumping anything *anything* such as marriage where money is your most important concern. The money issues should be worked out before either of you even "think" about setting a date.

I would suggest you do a google search on the name "Dave Ramsey" and listen to a few of his podcasts. This guy makes sense, and doesn't cost you a dime unless you want to attend his course. (Which is in my opinion, not necessary if one just uses common sense.)

[JJR3o5]

Are you kidding me? No where in anything that I wrote was there even a hint that our decision to get married was based on money.

Since we’re in the process of picking a date either in December 2017 or January 2018, the tax implications will be the deciding factor, ON THE DATE.

Thanks for your useless reply...

[Carl]

Basically, if you are married on or before Dec 31 of the tax year, then your only two filing status choices are Married Filing Joint, or Married Filing Separate.  Also understand that for a married couple to file separate will almost always be more costly tax-wise, than filing a joint return will be. That's because when a married couple files separate returns, they are automatically disqualified for deductions and credits they would otherwise qualify for if they filed joint.

As an example (one that I doubt applies to you) if a married couple files separate returns, and if either one or both of them receive social security, then 100% of their social security income is taxable. Whereas if they filed joint, so long as their income was under the threshold, none of it would be taxable.

For example, if your taxable income plus 1/2 of your social security income is between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your SS benefits. But if that total is more than $34,000 then a maximum of 85 percent of your SS benefits may be taxable. File a separate return there are no limits. 100% of your SS income is taxable. Most likely this example doesn't apply to you. But it's the one I know from memory.

One thing you can do is use the TaxCaster program which will give you rough numbers (very, *very* rough) on what to expect with different filing scenarios. It's at https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/

[JJR3o5]

Thank you. I understand my options but I was hoping someone with a trained eye could let me know which option is better given the specific details I provided.

Seems like getting married this year is the obvious answer but I don’t know what I don’t know...