9 Clear Tax Advantages of Getting Married

Marriage is about love, but it can also be a smart financial move. Beyond shared expenses and financial security, the tax code includes several incentives that make filing jointly more appealing than staying single.

If you and your partner are considering tying the knot, now might be a good time to check up on your financial health and see how marriage could improve your bottom line. Here are 10 tax advantages of getting married.

Married couples who file jointly often pay a lower combined tax rate than if they filed separately.

Thanks to wider tax brackets, couples with significant income differences may see their overall tax liability decrease compared to if they each filed an individual return. This benefit is especially noticeable when one spouse earns significantly more than the other.

For tax year 2025, the standard deduction for single filers is $15,000. However, for married couples filing jointly, it jumps to $30,200.

This means fewer couples will need to itemize deductions, simplifying tax preparation while also reducing taxable income. The higher deduction may result in significant tax savings compared to filing as two single individuals.

Normally, individuals must have earned income to contribute to an IRA. However, a spousal IRA allows a non-working spouse to contribute based on their partner's earnings.

This means married couples can double their retirement contributions, maximizing tax-deferred growth. Over time, this can lead to greater savings and financial security in retirement.

If both spouses work and have access to flexible spending accounts (FSAs), they can each contribute up to the IRS limit of $3,300 per person.

This allows couples to set aside more pre-tax dollars for medical expenses, thus reducing taxable income. Given the rising cost of health care, this extra tax-advantaged savings can make a big difference.

When selling a primary residence, single filers can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gains from taxes, while married couples can exclude double that amount: up to $500,000.

This means couples who have seen their home appreciate significantly will be able to keep more of their profits tax-free.

The IRS allows individuals to gift up to $19,000 per recipient during 2025 without incurring gift taxes. Married couples can combine their exclusions, meaning they can jointly gift up to $38,000 per recipient tax-free.

This can be a useful strategy for those looking to transfer wealth to heirs while minimizing taxes.

In addition to the annual gift tax exclusion, married couples benefit from higher estate tax exemptions.

The federal estate tax exemption is $13.99 million per individual for tax year 2025, meaning a married couple can shelter up to $27.98 million from federal estate taxes.

This makes marriage a powerful estate-planning tool for those with significant assets.

The estate tax marital deduction allows couples to set up a situation where upon the death of one spouse, an unlimited amount of assets will transfer to the surviving spouse tax-free.

This can help preserve wealth for the family while delaying any estate tax obligations until the second spouse's passing.

Many tax professionals charge less for preparing a joint return than they would if you filed two separate returns.

Since joint returns often result in lower overall tax liability, couples may save money both on taxes and tax preparation fees.

From lower tax rates to estate planning benefits, married couples can take advantage of tax breaks that single filers don't have access to.

So, remember that saying "I do" can be a key way to eliminate some money stress in your life.