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The marriage penalty hits hardest when both spouses earn similar, higher incomes. With $125k and $68k, you're not in the worst of it, but still affected. One thing to consider - are you both claiming the standard deduction? If you have mortgage interest, significant charitable contributions, or other potential itemized deductions, you might benefit from itemizing now that you're married. This could offset some of the marriage penalty effect. Also, make sure you're accounting for any pre-tax deductions like 401k contributions, HSA contributions, or healthcare premiums in your withholding calculations. These reduce your taxable income and might lower your additional withholding needs.
We both have 401k contributions (I'm at 8%, he's at 6%) and health insurance premiums that come out pre-tax. We don't own a home yet so no mortgage interest. Would increasing our 401k contributions help reduce this withholding shock? We're trying to save for a house down payment, so losing $633/month is really going to hurt that goal.
Increasing your 401k contributions would definitely help reduce your withholding requirements. For every additional percent you contribute, you'll lower your taxable income and potentially reduce those extra withholdings. For example, if you each increased your 401k contributions by just 2% (you to 10%, him to 8%), that would reduce your combined taxable income by about $3,860 annually, which could lower your withholding needs by roughly $850-900 per year. Plus, you'd be building more retirement savings. It's a win-win, though I understand it's a tradeoff with saving for the house down payment.
I got hit with this last year! We actually decided to adjust our withholdings to a slightly lower amount than recommended (did about $500/month instead of the $650 it suggested) and then made sure to save some extra money each month in case we owed at tax time. Ended up owing about $800 when we filed, which wasn't too bad. The marriage penalty is definitely real for dual-income couples with similar earnings. The withholding calculator is usually pretty accurate, but you can try running the numbers through tax software like FreeTaxUSA as a double-check. Just input your expected incomes for the year and see what it estimates for your taxes.
Joshua Wood
ā¢Did you use an online tax prep service to do this "test run" or is there a specific calculator you'd recommend?
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Can someone recommend good tax software for handling rental properties in a single-member LLC? I've been using TurboTax but it seems confused when I try to enter my rental expenses and keeps asking if I want to file as a corporation or partnership (which I don't, since it's just me).
StarStrider
ā¢I switched from TurboTax to H&R Block's premium version last year and found it handled my rental properties much better. It has a specific rental property section that walks you through Schedule E and clearly separates the business entity question from how the tax treatment works. Didn't get confused about my single-member LLC status at all.
Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check out H&R Block's premium version. I was getting so frustrated with the corporate filing questions when I just need everything on my personal return.
Sean Doyle
One important thing no one has mentioned yet - make sure you understand your state's requirements too. While federally a single-member LLC is disregarded, some states require separate filings or have annual LLC fees regardless of federal tax treatment. Here in California, we have to pay an $800 annual LLC tax even for a disregarded entity single-member LLC. Caught me by surprise my first year!
Malik Davis
ā¢That's a great point! I should look into Missouri's specific requirements. Do you know if these state fees or filings would show up in tax software, or is that something I need to research separately?
Sean Doyle
ā¢Most tax software should alert you to state-specific filings, but I'd definitely do your own research too. In my experience, the standard tax programs don't always catch everything, especially for LLCs. Missouri might have annual reports or fees that aren't technically "taxes" but are still required filings. Your Secretary of State website should have this info. Better to know ahead of time than get surprised by penalties later!
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Just want to add that when I did my insolvency worksheet, I found my old credit reports really helpful. You can sometimes get historical credit reports that show what accounts and debts you had open at specific times. This gave me proof of several liabilities I had forgotten about. For the land contract question, I was in a similar situation. The IRS considered mine a mortgage liability since I was building equity and responsible for the property. Make sure you include the full remaining balance as a liability, not just your monthly payment amount.
Harper Hill
ā¢How far back can you get credit reports? Do you remember which bureau you used to get historical data?
You can typically get credit report data going back 7-10 years, though it gets less detailed the further back you go. I used Experian for my historical report and specifically requested information from the year my debt was cancelled. You might need to call them directly rather than using their online system to get historical reports.
Natalie Wang
When I filled out my insolvency worksheet, I took pictures of all my furniture and household items and asked a local thrift store manager to give me a rough estimate of what they would price them at. The IRS accepted this documentation when they questioned my values.
Noah Torres
ā¢That's actually really smart. Did you just walk into a thrift store and ask, or did you need to know someone who worked there? I'm trying to figure out how to document my old furniture values.
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Just to add another perspective - $771 on $26,500 income is approximately a 2.9% effective tax rate, which is actually pretty low. The standard 10% tax bracket would typically result in more, but you're likely benefiting from some credits or deductions already. Make sure you're claiming the standard deduction properly. For 2024 taxes (filed in 2025), the standard deduction for a single filer is $13,850, which significantly reduces your taxable income.
Thanks for putting it in perspective! I think you're right that TurboTax is already giving me the standard deduction. When you put it that way, 2.9% doesn't sound as scary. I'm single with no dependents and this is my first time owing instead of getting a refund so I just panicked. Do you know if I can still contribute to an IRA or something to reduce my 2024 taxes even though it's already 2025?
Yes, you can still contribute to an IRA for the 2024 tax year until the tax filing deadline (April 15, 2025). This is one of the few "retroactive" tax moves you can make. For 2024, you can contribute up to $7,000 to a traditional IRA, and if you haven't already done so, this could reduce your taxable income. With your income level, a $1,000 contribution might save you around $100 in taxes. Plus, you might qualify for the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit (Saver's Credit), which could give you additional tax benefits for contributing to retirement accounts.
I'm confused by one thing - did you check if you're eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)? With an income of $26,500, you might qualify depending on your filing status and if you have any qualifying children. For 2024 taxes, a single filer with no children can qualify for EITC with income up to about $17,640. If you have one child, that limit goes up to $46,560. Could be worth checking if you qualify!
KylieRose
ā¢The EITC income limits changed slightly for 2024 filing. For single filers with no children, the limit is actually $17,950. But the other issue is that unemployment compensation doesn't count as "earned income" for EITC purposes. So OP would only count the $17,900 from their job, not the unemployment money.
I think TurboTax checked for that automatically but I'll double check. I don't have any kids so I'm not sure if I qualify, but if the limit is around $17,900 for just my job income (without counting unemployment) then maybe I do? Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it!
Amun-Ra Azra
Watch out for the "married filing separately" option if either of you has income-based student loan payments! My husband and I tried filing separately last year because we thought it would save on taxes with our different state situations, but it completely messed up my income-based repayment calculation and actually cost us more in the long run.
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Summer Green
ā¢This is so true! I made this mistake and my student loan payment jumped from $380 to over $900 per month because filing separately changed my income calculation. Filing jointly ended up being cheaper overall even though we paid slightly more in taxes.
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Gael Robinson
For the FBAR question - yes, you absolutely need to file if the aggregate value of all foreign accounts exceeded $10k at any point. This is one area where the IRS does NOT mess around. Penalties for non-filing can be insane even if you owe no tax on those accounts. The good news is filing the FBAR is relatively simple and doesn't usually impact your tax liability. It's just an information form. But don't skip it - the penalties start at $10,000 for non-willful violations.
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