Vox

Let’s say a woman, Kate, who earns $100,000, marries Jack, who earns $200,000, and they decide to file jointly. Together, their combined income of $300,000 would fall into the 24 percent tax bracket for joint filers. But if Kate had filed individually, she would have been taxed in the 22 percent tax bracket, while Jack’s $200,000 would push him into the 32 percent bracket. Put simply, Kate’s earnings are taxed more when she jointly files with Jack.

Though married couples in the US have the option of filing separately, fewer than 7 percent actually do, as that often subjects households to higher taxes than joint filing, in addition to causing them to lose other benefits. In this scenario, Kate and Jack’s take-home pay would be roughly $5,000 more if filed jointly than if they went with “married filing separately.”