Idiom
marriage penalty
Meaning
A situation where a married couple pays more in taxes, typically income taxes, when filing jointly, than the two individuals would pay if filing as singles separately.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“They pay a marriage penalty because of their combined income.”
“The couple discovered that filing their taxes together resulted in a marriage penalty, so they calculated the difference carefully.”
“Financial analysts often debate whether the current tax code unfairly imposes a marriage penalty on dual-income households, potentially discouraging legal unions for tax-conscious partners.”
Examples
simple
“They pay a marriage penalty because of their combined income.”
contextual
“The couple discovered that filing their taxes together resulted in a marriage penalty, so they calculated the difference carefully.”
complex
“Financial analysts often debate whether the current tax code unfairly imposes a marriage penalty on dual-income households, potentially discouraging legal unions for tax-conscious partners.”
Key words
Related idioms
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