If I Get Married in November, How Do I File My Taxes?

Getting married affects your finances, including how you file taxes. If you marry by December 31, the IRS considers you married for the entire tax year. This impacts your filing status, deductions, and potential refunds or liabilities. Understanding these changes beforehand can help you prepare.

Tax laws provide different filing options for married couples, and making informed choices can maximize benefits while minimizing tax burdens. Planning ahead ensures a smooth financial transition.

Determining Married Status for Filing

The IRS determines marital status based on your status as of December 31. Even if you marry on the last day of the year, you are considered married for the entire tax year. This affects your filing status and eligibility for tax benefits.

State laws dictate whether a marriage is legally recognized. If your marriage is valid in the state or country where it took place, the IRS recognizes it for federal tax purposes. This includes same-sex marriages, which have been federally recognized since Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). Common-law marriages are recognized only if legal in the state where they were established.

Choosing Your Filing Status

After marriage, you must choose between Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) and Married Filing Separately (MFS). This decision affects tax liability, deductions, and access to credits.

Filing jointly often results in lower tax rates and more deductions and credits. The IRS offers more favorable tax brackets for joint filers, potentially reducing the couple’s overall tax burden. In 2024, the 12% tax bracket applies to taxable income up to $94,300 for joint filers, whereas single and separate filers reach the 22% bracket at $47,150. The standard deduction for MFJ is $29,200 in 2024, double that for separate filers.

Certain tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child and Dependent Care Credit, and education-related credits, are available only to joint filers or are significantly reduced when filing separately. If one spouse has medical expenses, filing jointly may help, as the threshold for deducting medical costs is based on a percentage of adjusted gross income (AGI), which is lower when incomes are combined.

Filing separately may be beneficial in specific cases. If one spouse has high student loan debt under an income-driven repayment plan, filing separately can prevent the other spouse’s income from increasing monthly payments. Additionally, if one spouse has significant itemized deductions subject to AGI limits, such as medical expenses exceeding 7.5% of AGI, filing separately could allow for a larger deduction. However, MFS filers lose eligibility for certain credits and deductions, including the student loan interest deduction and education credits.

Adjusting Withholding After Marriage

Marriage can change how much tax is withheld from your paycheck, making it important to review your withholding elections. Combining incomes can push a couple into a higher tax bracket, potentially leading to a tax bill if withholding is not adjusted. The IRS provides a Tax Withholding Estimator to help determine the correct amount.

Updating your Form W-4 with your employer ensures proper withholding. The W-4 accounts for multiple jobs, additional income sources, and tax credits. If both spouses work, adjusting withholding is crucial, as default withholding tables assume only one job per taxpayer, which can lead to under-withholding.

If one spouse earns significantly more, adjusting withholding at the higher earner’s job may help balance tax payments. The IRS recommends using the “Two-Earners/Multiple Jobs Worksheet” on the W-4 to avoid underpayment issues. Couples with other income sources, such as self-employment or investments, may also need to make estimated tax payments.

Effects on Deductions and Credits

Marriage affects eligibility for deductions and credits, particularly when income levels change or tax benefits phase out. Couples must decide whether to combine expenses or itemize separately. Mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and charitable contributions may provide greater tax savings when combined, but the total must exceed the standard deduction to be worthwhile. The $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions applies per return, meaning joint filers do not receive double the benefit compared to single filers.

Education-related benefits, such as the American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit, are also affected by combined income. These credits begin to phase out at higher modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) levels, which may disqualify some couples who were previously eligible when filing individually. Similarly, the deduction for traditional IRA contributions is reduced or eliminated for joint filers if one spouse is covered by a workplace retirement plan and their combined income exceeds IRS thresholds.

Updating Personal Information with Tax Authorities

After marriage, updating personal details with tax authorities ensures tax filings and financial records remain accurate. The IRS and Social Security Administration (SSA) rely on consistent information to process returns and issue refunds without delays. If a name change occurs, the SSA must be notified first, as the IRS verifies tax returns against SSA records. Filing a Form SS-5 with the SSA updates the name associated with a Social Security number, preventing mismatches that could result in rejected tax filings or delayed refunds.

Address changes should also be reported to the IRS using Form 8822 to ensure tax documents and correspondence reach the correct location. Updating the address with financial institutions, employers, and state tax agencies helps prevent issues with W-2s, 1099s, and other tax-related forms. If a couple moves to a new state, they may also need to adjust state tax withholding and understand new residency-based tax obligations.