Key takeaways

• Filing taxes as a married couple allows for a streamlined approach of submitting a joint return and sometimes more deductions.
• Revised tax brackets and the standard deduction for 2025 and 2026 can affect the tradeoff of whether to file jointly or separately
• The married filing jointly status can unlock certain tax credits for people who may not be otherwise be able to qualify

Married couples must juggle deductions and credits when deciding how to file their taxes. Each person’s taxable income can also impact the tax benefits of marriage.

Financial professionals often get asked: What are the tax benefits of marriage?

As couples plan for their big day, the last thing most people want to think about is taxes. However, marriage can have a big impact on a couple’s financial situation, especially in how they file their tax returns and how much tax they’ll pay.

Depending on the circumstances, there can be significant tax benefits of marriage, but there’s a lot to consider. For many people, being able to streamline at tax time is a perk: a couple can file a joint tax return, and sometimes, take more deductions.

Minimizing potential negative tax implications of marriage requires planning in advance — ideally, before saying “I do.”

What are the key benefits of “married filing jointly”?

There are two main tax-filing options for married couples: married filing jointly or married filing separately.

For many couples, choosing to file jointly will result in the most tax benefits of marriage, including the following.

Standard deduction and other deductions and credits

The standard deduction for a single person or a person filing as married filing separately is the same. It is $15,750 for tax year 2025 and $16,100 for 2026.¹

When two individuals get married and decide to file jointly, their standard deductions combine, and their married filing jointly standard deduction becomes $31,500 for 2025 taxes and then $32,200 for the 2026 tax year.²

So, the standard deduction for a married couple is not “higher”; it is the combination of the two single individuals’ standard deductions. One advantage to married filing jointly comes in the form of tax credits available only to married couples. Married couples filing jointly may qualify for several tax credits that they couldn’t be eligible for while filing separately, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Education Tax Credits.

Easier and less expensive filing

When it comes to submitting taxes, it generally takes less time and effort to file one tax return than it does to file two. And if a professional accountant or CPA is enlisted to do your taxes, it may be less expensive for that person to prepare one return than to prepare two returns.

Potential for a lower tax bracket

Traditionally known as the "marriage penalty," this is a scenario in which a married couple earning similar salaries is pushed into a higher tax bracket than if they remained single. Congress has largely eliminated this tax penalty by adjusting the tax brackets so that now the marriage penalty only hits the highest-earning couples.

The top bracket of 37% is an exception. For the 2026 tax year, this rate covers income over $640,600 for singles and married couples filing separately and income over $768,700 for married couples filing jointly. So a couple earning this much money could still be subject to the marriage penalty if they file separately.³

Preservation of estate

Married couples can leave an unlimited amount of money to their spouses without generating any estate tax. This can protect a wealthy decedent’s estate from taxation until the death of the surviving spouse.

Potential for higher IRA contributions

Single individuals who aren’t working generally cannot contribute to an IRA. But if a couple is married and one spouse isn’t working, the non-working spouse can contribute to an IRA using joint income. An eligible married couple filing jointly can make IRA contributions to two separate IRAs, or one for each spouse.

Read more: Spousal IRA: What it is and how it works

In addition to these tax benefits, the financial benefits of marriage can include discounted auto and homeowner’s insurance, better rates on health insurance, and better rates and terms on loans and credit.

What is the marriage penalty and the EITC?

Keep in mind that low-earning couples could be hit with a marriage penalty if they claim the earned income tax credit (EITC). The EITC is a refundable tax credit available mainly to working parents with children.

This is because taxpayers are no longer eligible for the EITC once their income exceeds a certain level, which is based on how many children they have. For example, a married couple filing jointly with one child will no longer qualify for the EITC once their income exceeds $57,554 for tax year 2025.⁴

Interestingly, to qualify for the EITC, the income limits for married taxpayers are not double those for single taxpayers. For example, the income limit for the 2025 tax year is $50,434 for a single taxpayer with one qualifying child, but only $57,554 for married taxpayers filing jointly with one qualifying child.⁵

Investment income, Medicare taxes and SALT

Something that might impact the tax benefits of marriage for high-earning couples is the potential for having to pay the net investment income tax of 3.8% and the Medicare surtax of 0.9%.^6,7

Single filers aren’t subject to these taxes until their income exceeds $200,000, but the threshold for married couples filing jointly is $250,000.⁸

This means a couple would have a combined threshold of $400,000 if they remained single, but just $250,000 if they got married. If one spouse earns $150,000 and the other earns $100,000, they would not be subject to these taxes if they remained single, but they would be if they tied the knot. The threshold for married filing separately is $125,000.⁹

The tax reform enacted in July 2025 changed the tax math behind the itemized deduction for state and local taxes (or more simply, SALT). The cap has increased to $40,000 and will revert back to the previous $10,000 limit after five years. This limit could affect couples who get married, applying to both single filers and married couples filing jointly.¹⁰

Read more: What the big, beautiful bill could mean for wallets nationwide

So, if each spouse has $40,000 in SALT and they get married, their total deduction will be just $40,000, not the combined $80,000 if they each remained single.

Bottom line

If you are recently married or plan to get married soon, consider meeting with a financial professional or tax advisor to talk about how your marriage could affect your tax situation. The sooner you plan, the better chance you’ll have of enjoying some of the tax benefits of marriage.