A. Unfortunately, the answer is yes, and it's usually for high income couples.
For starters, the top federal rate of 37% kicks in at taxable income of $510,300 for single filers in 2019. Yet for married couples, that rate gets applied to income of $612,350 and higher.
For illustration: two individuals who each have income of $500,000 would pay the second-highest rate, 35%, on their income if they filed as single taxpayers.
However, as a married couple with combined income of $1 million, they would pay 37% on $387,650 of that (the difference between their income and the $612,350 threshold for the highest rate). That would mean paying about $7,750 more in income taxes.
There also are other parts of the tax code that can cost married couples more. For instance, while an individual can have up to $200,000 in income before the Medicare surtax of 0.9% kicks in, the limit for married couples is $250,000.
Likewise, the income threshold for when a 3.8% investment-income tax kicks in is not doubled. Singles with modified adjusted gross income above $200,000 pay the tax, while married couples filing jointly pay it if their income exceeds $250,000. (The tax applies to things such as interest, dividends, capital gains and rental or royalty income.)
Additionally, the limit on the deduction for state and local taxes — also known as SALT — is not doubled for married couples. The $10,000 cap applies to both single filers and married filers. (Married couples filing separately get $5,000 each for the deduction). However, the deduction only is available to taxpayers who itemize.
For people with incomes at the other end of the earnings spectrum, a marriage penalty can come from the earned income tax credit.
The credit is generally available to working taxpayers with children, as long as they meet income limits and other requirements. Some low earners with no children also are eligible for it.
Because it’s refundable — meaning it could result in a refund even if your tax bill is zero — it’s considered valuable to working parents with low or modest income.
However, the income limits that come with the tax break are not doubled for married couples. So two people with income of $25,000 each and one child would have paid $3,117 less in taxes in 2018 if they had remained unmarried, according to the Tax Policy Center, a nonprofit research group. The reason is that their $50,000 combined income exceeds the income limit for married couples with one child.