IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ntj/journl/v65y2012i4p807-26.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Marriage and Taxes: What Can We Learn From Tax Returns Filed by Cohabiting Couples?

Author

Listed:
  • Lin, Emily Y.
  • Tong, Patricia K.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relationship between marriage and taxes by examining federal income tax returns filed by cohabiting couples. We use tax return data to estimate the tax consequences of marriage for cohabiting couples by comparing their tax liabilities from their separately filed returns to the tax they would owe if they were married and filed jointly. Under 2007 law, we determine that 48 percent of couples in our sample would have a marriage penalty and 38 percent would have a marriage bonus. We explain these results by examining the couples’ family characteristics and various components of the tax system.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:65:y:2012:i:4:p:807-26
    DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2012.4.04
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2012.4.04
    Download Restriction: Access is restricted to subscribers and members of the National Tax Association.
    File URL: https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2012.4.04
    Download Restriction: Access is restricted to subscribers and members of the National Tax Association.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17310/ntj.2012.4.04?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dickert-Conlin, Stacy & Houser, Scott, 1998. "Taxes and Transfers: A New Look at the Marriage Penalty," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 51(n. 2), pages 175-217, June.
    2. Eissa, Nada & Hoynes, Hilary Williamson, 2000. "Explaining the Fall and Rise in the Tax Cost of Marriage: The Effect of Tax Laws and Demographic Trends, 1984-97," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 53(n. 3), pages 683-712, September.
    3. Alm, James & Whittington, Leslie A., 1996. "The Rise and Fall and Rise ... of the Marriage Tax," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 49(4), pages 571-89, December.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Harvey S. Rosen, 1987. "The Marriage Tax is Down But Not Out," NBER Working Papers 2231, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. James Alm & J. Sebastian Leguizamon, 2015. "Whither the Marriage Tax?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 68(2), pages 251-280, June.
    2. Salvador Ortigueira & Nawid Siassi, 2016. "Anti-poverty Income Transfers in the U.S.: A Framework for the Evaluation of Policy Reforms," Working Papers 2016-04, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    3. James Alm & J. Sebastian Leguizamon & Susane Leguizamon, 2023. "Race, Ethnicity, and Taxation of the Family: The Many Shades of the Marriage Penalty/Bonus," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(3), pages 525-560.
    4. Hermann Buslei & Katharina Wrohlich, 2014. "Besteuerung von Paaren: das Ehegattensplitting und seine Alternativen," DIW Roundup: Politik im Fokus 21, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. James Alm & Leslie Whittington, 2003. "Shacking Up or Shelling Out: Income Taxes, Marriage, and Cohabitation," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 169-186, September.
    2. 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.
    3. Herwig Immervoll & Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Claus Thustrup Kreiner & Nicolaj Verdelin, 2008. "An Evaluation of the Tax-Transfer Treatment of Married Couples in European Countries," EPRU Working Paper Series 08-03, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    4. 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.
    5. Leturcq, Marion, 2012. "Will you civil union me? Taxation and civil unions in France," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 541-552.
    6. Janet Holtzblatt & Swati Joshi & Nora Cahill & William Gale, 2023. "Racial Disparities in the Income Tax Treatment of Marriage," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 38, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Stevenson, Adam, 2012. "The Labor Supply and Tax Revenue Consequences of Federal Same-Sex Marriage Legalization," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 783-806, December.
    8. Janusz Kudła, 2002. "The Economic Aspects of Family Taxation," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 6.
    9. Kasey Buckles & Melanie Guldi & Joseph Price, 2011. "Changing the Price of Marriage: Evidence from Blood Test Requirements," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(3), pages 539-567.
    10. Chris Herbst, 2011. "The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Marriage and Divorce: Evidence from Flow Data," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 30(1), pages 101-128, February.
    11. Hector Chade & Gustavo Ventura, 2002. "Taxes and Marriage: A Two-Sided Search Analysis," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 43(3), pages 955-986, August.
    12. Damien Échevin, 2003. "L’individualisation de l’impôt sur le revenu : équitable ou pas ?," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 160(4), pages 149-165.
    13. Hayley Fisher & Anna Zhu, 2019. "The Effect of Changing Financial Incentives on Repartnering," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(623), pages 2833-2866.
    14. James Alm & J. Sebastian Leguizamon & Susane Leguizamon, 2023. "Race, Ethnicity, and Taxation of the Family: The Many Shades of the Marriage Penalty/Bonus," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(3), pages 525-560.
    15. Stacy Dickert-Conlin & Amitabh Chandra, 1999. "Taxes and the Timing of Birth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(1), pages 161-177, February.
    16. 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.
    17. Fisher, Hayley, 2012. "Just a piece of paper? The effect of marriage on health," Working Papers 2012-17, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    18. James Alm & J. Sebastian Leguizamon, 2015. "Whither the Marriage Tax?," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 68(2), pages 251-280, June.
    19. Elisabeth Gugl, 2009. "Income splitting, specialization, and intra‐family distribution," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3), pages 1050-1071, August.
    20. Kei Sakata & Colin. R. McKenzie, 2010. "Does Taxation Affect Marriage and Family Planning Decisions?," Keio/Kyoto Joint Global COE Discussion Paper Series 2010-003, Keio/Kyoto Joint Global COE Program.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:65:y:2012:i:4:p:807-26. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: The University of Chicago Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.ntanet.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.