Having a baby soon - should we get married before tax filing season?
Hey tax folks, I recently found out my girlfriend is pregnant (due in May) and we're trying to figure out if we should get married before the end of the year for tax purposes. We both work full-time, I make about $68,000 and she makes around $52,000. We currently live together but file taxes separately as single. I've heard mixed things about the "marriage penalty" versus potential benefits like child tax credits and dependent care credits. Will we get more tax benefits if we're married filing jointly when the baby arrives? Or should we stay unmarried with one of us claiming the child as head of household? Also, how does the timing work? If we get married in December 2024, can we file as married for the entire 2024 tax year? Or would we need to be married earlier in the year? Really appreciate any advice because we're trying to make the best financial decision before the baby comes!
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Emma Johnson
This is a great question with several tax implications to consider. Your tax filing status is determined by your marital status on December 31st. So if you get married on December 31, 2024, you can file as married (either jointly or separately) for the entire 2024 tax year. For the "marriage penalty" versus benefits question, it really depends on your specific situation. With incomes of $68,000 and $52,000, you're in a range where marriage could actually provide tax benefits rather than penalties. The marriage penalty typically affects couples where both earn high and similar incomes. In your case, filing jointly would likely give you a larger standard deduction than filing as two single taxpayers. For a child born in May 2025, you'd be able to claim the child tax credit and dependent care credit on your 2025 tax return (filed in 2026). The question becomes whether to file as married filing jointly or have one parent file as head of household with the other filing as single. Generally, married filing jointly provides better tax benefits than one person filing head of household and the other filing single, especially with the enhanced child tax credit currently available.
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Ravi Patel
•Would they still get the full child tax credit for a baby born in May, or is it prorated based on how many months the child lived with them in the tax year?
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Emma Johnson
•You'll get the full child tax credit for a child born at any time during the tax year - it's not prorated based on birth date. As long as your child is born by December 31st, you can claim the full credit for that tax year. If you're using the child care tax credit (for daycare expenses), that would only apply to actual expenses paid, so that would effectively be prorated based on when you start paying for child care.
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Astrid Bergström
I went through this exact situation last year! I highly recommend checking out https://taxr.ai - I uploaded both our tax documents from the previous year and ran scenarios as married vs. single/HOH. It showed us that getting married would save us about $3,200 in our situation (our incomes were pretty similar to yours). The cool thing was I could see exactly which deductions and credits changed between the two scenarios, which made the decision super clear.
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PixelPrincess
•Did it let you factor in the baby too? Like can you add dependents that weren't on your previous tax returns? My girlfriend's pregnant too and wondering if this would work for us.
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Omar Farouk
•I'm kinda skeptical about these online calculators. How accurate is it really? Like does it account for all the little obscure tax things?
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Astrid Bergström
•Yes, it definitely lets you add dependents that weren't on your previous returns! You can basically create "what-if" scenarios with different household compositions. It was really helpful to see how adding our baby would change things. As for accuracy, I was skeptical too initially, but it's not just a basic calculator. It's actually using real tax code logic and runs your specific numbers through all the relevant tax forms. We compared its results with what our accountant manually calculated and they were within $50 of each other. It catches those obscure situations too, like phase-outs and alternative minimum tax considerations.
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Omar Farouk
Just wanted to update that I tried https://taxr.ai after my skeptical comment above and WOW it was way more detailed than I expected! Ran my partner's and my info through it and discovered we'd save about $2,800 by getting married before year-end. The breakdown showed exactly where the savings came from - mainly the broader tax brackets for MFJ and some deduction differences. Really helpful seeing the side-by-side comparison with real numbers! Definitely made our decision easier.
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Chloe Martin
A tax angle most people forget - if you're planning to call the IRS with any questions about filing with a new baby or marriage status changes, good luck getting through! I spent literally 6 hours on hold trying to get clarification about our similar situation. Then I found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically hold your place in line and call you when an IRS agent picks up. Saved me hours of waiting on hold with that awful music.
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Diego Fernández
•Wait how does that even work? So you're saying I don't have to sit on hold myself? Does the IRS actually allow this?
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Anastasia Kuznetsov
•Sounds too good to be true. No way this actually works with the IRS, they barely even answer their regular phone lines.
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Chloe Martin
•It works by using their system to navigate the IRS phone tree and wait on hold for you. When an actual IRS person answers, their system calls your phone and connects you directly to the IRS agent. The IRS doesn't care who's waiting on hold - they just want to help the next person in line. When you get connected, you're talking directly to the IRS agent, not through any third party. It's completely legitimate and complies with all IRS protocols. No different than having a friend wait on hold and then call you over when someone answers.
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Anastasia Kuznetsov
I'm actually stunned right now. After seeing this thread yesterday, I was so doubtful about Claimyr that I had to try it myself. Got a callback in 67 minutes when the IRS agent came on the line. Asked all my questions about marriage timing and child tax credit eligibility and got everything answered clearly. Honestly saved me from taking a half day off work just to sit on hold. Completely worth it - consider me converted from total skeptic to believer!
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Sean Fitzgerald
Just want to add something important no one mentioned yet - if you're having a baby, having health insurance as a married couple might be MUCH cheaper than two separate plans. My wife and I saved over $2,400/year by being on a family plan through her employer vs. our previous separate plans. That savings was actually bigger than any tax difference!
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Zara Khan
•Good point, but doesn't this depend on the employer? Some places I've worked charged way more to add a spouse if they had their own insurance option available.
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Sean Fitzgerald
•You're absolutely right that it depends on the employer. Some have what's called a "spousal surcharge" if your spouse has insurance available through their own job. In our case, my wife's employer had an amazing family plan with no spousal surcharge, while my employer's plan was pretty expensive. So combining on hers made sense. Definitely worth calling both HR departments to get the specific numbers before making any decisions.
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MoonlightSonata
Don't forget about the hospital bills and birthing costs! If either of you has a Health Savings Account (HSA), getting married could let you contribute more and use pre-tax dollars for all those medical expenses. The family contribution limit is way higher than individual ($7,750 vs $3,850 for 2024). Saved us tons when our baby came!
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Mateo Gonzalez
•That's a great point! My wife and I did that last year. You can also spend HSA funds on your spouse's medical expenses even if they're not on your health insurance plan, which most people don't realize.
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Oliver Alexander
One thing to consider that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you do decide to get married, make sure to update your W-4 withholdings at work! Many couples forget this step and end up owing money at tax time or getting a huge refund (which means you gave the government an interest-free loan all year). With your combined income of $120,000 and a baby on the way, your tax situation will be quite different than when you were both single. The IRS has a good withholding calculator on their website, or you can use the new W-4 form which has been redesigned to be more accurate for married couples. Also, don't forget about Dependent Care FSA if either of your employers offers it - you can set aside up to $5,000 pre-tax for daycare expenses once the baby arrives. This is separate from the child care tax credit and can provide additional savings!
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Aria Khan
•This is such an important point that gets overlooked! I made this mistake when I got married mid-year and ended up owing like $1,800 at tax time because we were both still withholding as single people. The IRS withholding calculator is definitely helpful, but just be aware it can be a bit confusing to navigate if you're not used to tax terminology. Also, quick tip - if you do update your W-4s, try to do it at the same time so you don't end up with one person over-withholding and the other under-withholding. Makes the math easier to track!
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Keisha Williams
Great advice from everyone so far! As someone who works in tax prep, I'd add one more consideration that often gets overlooked - timing your wedding date strategically within December if you do decide to get married this year. Since your tax filing status is determined by December 31st, you could literally get married on December 31st and still file as married for the entire 2024 tax year. This gives you almost the full year to see how your finances actually play out before making the commitment. Also, with a baby due in May 2025, consider that you'll be eligible for the Child and Dependent Care Credit starting in 2025 if you have childcare expenses. This credit can be worth up to $2,100 for one child (20-35% of up to $8,000 in expenses, depending on your income). Combined with the Child Tax Credit of up to $2,000, having a child provides significant tax benefits. One last tip: if you do get married, make sure both of you understand the "kiddie tax" rules won't apply here since we're talking about your own child, but do keep documentation of all baby-related medical expenses throughout 2025 - some may be deductible if they exceed the threshold for medical expense deductions.
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