Single vs Married filing jointly

[chickenlittle]

Not married yet, and curious about how MFJ works!! I make significantly more than my partner. Here's an arbitrary  scenario using the 2021 tax brackets:

Single:

Me:  falls into 32% tax bracket - earning170k

Partner: falls into 22% tax bracket - earning 50k

If we get married, our combine income will be 220k, so do we pay 24% in taxes per person? That would mean my partner will be paying more in taxes if we are MFJ...which seems wrong. Or is it something like this:

MFJ:

Me: falls into 22% tax bracket (instead of 32%) - earning170k

Partner: falls into the 12%  (instead of 22%) - earning 50k

Thank you!

[xmasbaby0]

If you were legally married at the end of 2021 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $25,100 (+$1350 for each spouse 65 or older)  You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit. 

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return. Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

 If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

[DoninGA]

You are taxed on your Total taxable income of both when filing as married filing jointly.  Your taxable income is the amount of income after the standard or itemized deduction (whichever is higher) is subtracted from the Adjusted Gross Income.

So if your AGI is $220,000 and your Standard Deduction for MFJ in 2021 is $25,100 then your taxable income would be $194,900.

Go to this website for the 2021 tax brackets - https://www.bankrate.com/taxes/tax-brackets/

Only the amount of your taxable income greater than $81,050 is taxed at 22% and only the amount greater than $172,750 is taxed at 24%