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In United States, what are the benefits of getting legally married? (beehaw.org)

submitted 10 months ago by janabuggs@beehaw.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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It looks like taxes increase and any kind of post-life planning can be done with a few legal filings rather than getting married. Is there any real benefit? It kinda seems like it's just a way to trap people in relationships, probably traditionally, the woman.

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[–] Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Marriage tax penalties usually affect high income, especially where both spouses make a lot. In many cases taxes go down.

[–] janabuggs@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I was married (now divorced) and ours definitely went up. We both made about 45k at the time.

[–] Reil@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago

American marriage tax codes are written to benefit the sort of couple with a stay-at-home-spouse. Having one person without an income (or with a significantly lower income) in the marriage effectively pulls you down in the tax brackets as a whole.

[–] TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub 2 points 10 months ago

If you both make around the same, you'll see it go up. If you make vastly different amounts (such as by having only one income), it'll go down.

[–] Nemo@midwest.social 2 points 10 months ago

Mine went down, for sure, but I'm a sole earner.