Question

Raphael and Martina are engaged and are planning to travel to Las Vegas during the 2018 Christmas season and get married around the end of the year. In 2018, Raphael expects to earn $60,200 and Martina expects to earn $24,500. Their employers have deducted the appropriate amount of withholding from their paychecks throughout the year. Neither Raphael nor Martina has any itemized deductions. They are trying to decide whether they should get married on December 31, 2018, or on January 1, 2019. What do you recommend?

Answer 1

Solution:-

From a tax perspective, it would be more advantageous for Julio and Martina to marry in 2018.

The tax liability of Julio and Martina under each scenario would approximate the following:

	Single Returns		Joint Returns
	Martina	Julio
Adjusted Gross Income	60,200	24,500	84,700
Standard deduction	12,000	12,000	24,000
Taxable Income	48,200	12,500	60,700
Tax liability	6,543.50	1,309.50	6,903

If Julio and Martina get married in 2018 and file a joint return, they will pay $5,903 in federal income tax. If they wait until January 1, 2019, their collective tax liability in 2018 would be $7,853. Thus, for tax purposes, it makes more sense for Julio and Martina to get married in 2018.

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