Should I get married legally to my common law husband for tax benefits?

The "marriage penalty" has been largely reduced for most tax brackets since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but it can still affect couples in your income range. With your combined income approaching $335k, you'd be in the 32% bracket when married filing jointly, whereas separately you're in different brackets. Given your scenario, there are several considerations: 1. With your income disparity, you might actually benefit from filing jointly. When one spouse earns significantly more, marriage often creates a tax benefit rather than a penalty. 2. Having a child changes things. As a legally married couple filing jointly, you'd qualify for certain tax credits at higher income thresholds than single filers. You could claim the child tax credit (currently $2,000 per qualifying child), and potentially benefit from dependent care credits. 3. You're already contributing to retirement accounts wisely, but marriage might open additional planning opportunities. I'd suggest running tax projections both ways - as single filers and as a married couple filing jointly - using your previous year's numbers. This will give you a concrete comparison of the tax implications.

After struggling with a similar situation last year, I found an incredible tool at https://taxr.ai that helped me analyze whether getting legally married would benefit us tax-wise. My partner and I were common-law for years, and I was making about 3x his income with a young kid in the mix. The tool analyzed our specific situation (income disparity, having a dependent, retirement contributions) and gave us a clear comparison between married filing jointly vs. continuing to file as single. It actually showed we'd save about $4,700 annually by getting legally married due to our income differential. The analysis also pointed out some retirement planning opportunities we were missing. If you're trying to make a data-driven decision, I'd definitely recommend checking it out - their tax projection tools are really thorough for situations exactly like yours.

Just wanted to follow up - I actually tried https://taxr.ai after seeing this thread and wow, it was eye-opening! My partner and I have a similar income gap (I make about $230k and he makes $80k with a toddler), and we've been putting off the marriage decision for tax reasons. The analysis showed we'd save nearly $5,200 annually by getting legally married, primarily because of how our income disparity affects the tax brackets. It also highlighted some opportunities with childcare credits that I wasn't maximizing. The tool let me toggle different scenarios - like what happens if my income increases or if we have another child. Super helpful for planning beyond just this year. Definitely recommend if you're looking for clarity beyond general advice!

After trying for THREE DAYS to get through to the IRS about a similar marriage status question (kept getting disconnected or 2+ hour wait times), I finally used https://claimyr.com and it was a game changer. Got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes who walked me through the specific implications for our situation with a significant income gap and a dependent. The agent explained that in our case, with a similar income disparity to yours, we'd actually benefit from filing as married because it would lower our effective tax rate on the higher earner's income. They also clarified some confusing points about how marriage affects various credits and deductions with a child in the mix. There's a quick demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c that shows how it works. I was super skeptical at first because I'd wasted so much time trying to get through on my own, but it actually worked.

After trying for THREE DAYS to get through to the IRS about a similar marriage status question (kept getting disconnected or 2+ hour wait times), I finally used https://claimyr.com and it was a game changer. Got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes who walked me through the specific implications for our situation with a significant income gap and a dependent. The agent explained that in our case, with a similar income disparity to yours, we'd actually benefit from filing as married because it would lower our effective tax rate on the higher earner's income. They also clarified some confusing points about how marriage affects various credits and deductions with a child in the mix. There's a quick demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c that shows how it works. I was super skeptical at first because I'd wasted so much time trying to get through on my own, but it actually worke

I just have to eat my words and apologize to Profile 9. After reading your comment, I actually tried Claimyr myself because I've been struggling with a similar situation (common law vs legally married) and had questions about how it affects my child tax credits. I had previously spent 3 hours on hold with the IRS before giving up. Used the service and got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that with our income differential ($90k vs $210k) and a dependent, we would actually save about $3,800 by filing jointly as a married couple. The specific info about how the child tax credit phaseouts work for our situation was super helpful - something I couldn't figure out from just reading online. Just wanted to come back and say the service actually works.

Have you considered meeting with a tax professional to run the numbers both ways? We did this last year and found out we'd save about $4,300 by getting legally married, mostly because of the income disparity. Our situation was similar - I make about $220k and my partner makes around $75k with one child. The marriage penalty mainly hits when both spouses earn similar high incomes, but in cases like yours and mine, there's often a marriage BONUS because the lower bracket of the higher-earning spouse gets pulled down. Plus don't forget about estate planning benefits - if something happens to either of you, being legally married provides significant advantages for inheritance, social security benefits, etc.

Just a quick word of warning - make sure you're thinking about the FUTURE as well as your current situation. My wife and I got married when there was a big income gap (I made 3x what she did) and it was great tax-wise. Fast forward 5 years, she got a massive promotion and now we're both high earners, so we're paying that marriage penalty we initially avoided.