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The Marriage Tax is Down But Not Out

Author

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  • Harvey S. Rosen
Abstract
The public debate surrounding the Tax Reform Act of 1986 has paid little attention to the tax consequences of being married. Specifically, there has been virtually no discussion of the possible existence of an implicit "marriage tax"--the increase in the joint income tax liability of a man and woman when they marry. This lack of concern appears to be due to the perception that the new law has lowered marginal tax rates to such an extent that the magnitudes of marriage taxes (and subsidies) are inconsequential. In this paper, I show that to the contrary, the new law created large taxes on being married for some couples, and large subsidies for others. On the basis of a tax simulation model, I estimate that in 1988, 40 percent of all couples will pay an annual average marriage tax of about $1100, and 53 percent will receive an average subsidy of about $600. One striking result that emerges from the analysis is the relatively large marriage tax that will be borne by some low income couples with children. For such couples, the marriage tax can amount to 10 percent of joint gross income. Hence, the new tax law appears to quite "anti-family" for some low income workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Harvey S. Rosen, 1987. "The Marriage Tax is Down But Not Out," NBER Working Papers 2231, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2231
    Note: PE
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    Cited by:

    1. Sjoquist, David L. & Walker, Mary Beth, 1995. "The Marriage Tax and the Rate and Timing of Marriage," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 48(4), pages 547-58, December.
    2. Rosen, Harvey S., 1988. "Thinking About the Tax Consequences of Marriage," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 41(2), pages 259-260, June.
    3. Alm, James & Whittington, Leslie A., 1996. "The Rise and Fall and Rise ... Of the Marriage Tax," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 49(4), pages 571-589, December.
    4. Immervoll, Herwig & Jacobsen Kleven, Henrik & Thustrup Kreiner, Claus & Verdelin, Nicolaj, 2008. "An evaluation of the tax-transfer treatment of married couples in European countries," EUROMOD Working Papers EM7/08, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    5. Linda Cohen & Amihai Glazer, 2017. "Bargaining within the family can generate a political gender gap," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 1399-1413, December.
    6. Matthias Wrede, 2000. "Income Splitting – is it Good for Both Partners in the Marriage?," CESifo Working Paper Series 391, CESifo.
    7. James Alm & Stacy Dickert-Conlin & Leslie A. Whittington, 1999. "Policy Watch: The Marriage Penalty," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 193-204, Summer.
    8. Martin Feldstein & Daniel R. Feenberg, 1996. "The Taxation of Two-Earner Families," NBER Chapters, in: Empirical Foundations of Household Taxation, pages 39-75, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Rosen, Harvey S., 1988. "Thinking About the Tax Consequences of Marriage," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 41(2), pages 259-60, June.
    10. Lin, Emily Y. & Tong, Patricia K., 2012. "Marriage and Taxes: What Can We Learn From Tax Returns Filed by Cohabiting Couples?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 807-826, December.
    11. Alm, James & Whittington, Leslie A., 1997. "Income taxes and the timing of marital decisions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 219-240, May.
    12. McIntyre, Michael J., 1988. "Rosen's Marriage Tax Computations: What Do They Mean?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 41(2), pages 257-258, June.
    13. Dickert-Conlin, Stacy & Houser, Scott, 1998. "Taxes and Transfers: A New Look at the Marriage Penalty," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 51(2), pages 175-217, June.
    14. Cataldo, Anthony J. II, 1996. "Recent Developments in the Marriage Tax: A Comment and Decomposition," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 49(4), pages 609-616, December.
    15. McIntyre, Michael J., 1988. "Rosen's Marriage Tax Computations: What Do They Mean?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 41(2), pages 257-58, June.
    16. Andrew A. Samwick, 1996. "Tax Shelters and Passive Losses after the Tax Reform Act of 1986," NBER Chapters, in: Empirical Foundations of Household Taxation, pages 193-233, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Damien Échevin, 2003. "L'individualisation de l'impôt sur le revenu : équitable ou pas ?," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(4), pages 149-165.
    18. Jorge Onrubia Fernández & María del Carmen Rodado Ruiz, 2015. "oGravamen individual o grupal en el IRPF? Una valoración desde la movilidad distributiva," Studies on the Spanish Economy eee2015-01, FEDEA.
    19. Janet Holtzblatt & Robert Rebelein, 2000. "Measuring the Effect of the EITC on Marriage Penalties and Bonuses," JCPR Working Papers 127, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    20. Sjoquist, David L. & Walker, Mary Beth, 1995. "The Marriage Tax and the Rate and Timing of Marriage," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 48(4), pages 547-558, December.

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