Saving Money and The Relationship

There are two main reasons why over 50% of relationships or marriages go sour:

Sex (especially infidelity)
Money (especially financial disagreements between partners).

If your relationship is at risk of extinction, we can help with the money part to save your love! Unfortunatly, we cannot help with the other part. Find a comprehensive overview on children and taxes.

A great way to start is to prepare and e-file your 2022 Tax Return on eFile.com and take the stress out of filing taxes online. The eFile app will guide you through completing and filing the correct form(s) for your tax situation based on your answers to a series of questions. Additionally, find ease when selecting the proper filing status by using the STATucator to determine whether to claim married filing jointly or married filing separately, if applicable. As a married couple, you and your spouse may qualify for different marriage-related tax breaks.

Fact: Money Can Negatively Affect Relationships

Does money outweigh love? According to various statistics, it could:

The #1 argument among couples is money, according to a University of Denver poll.
A survey by ForbesWomen and YourTango indicated that 75% of women would turn down proposals from their unemployed boyfriends.
88% of women find money important in a relationship, stated by a MSNBC survey and eZine.
Financial problems amongst married folks is the leading cause of divorce.

There are many considerations when you are part of a family, whether it be you and your boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, or if you add dependent children to your family. With more people in your life to consider, you may face personal and financial problems.

These factors usually cause an unbalanced relationship in money and other aspects, resulting in a breakup:

One partner saves more money than the other partner.
A spouse spends more money than the other spouse.
One significant other often (or always) uses another partner's money.
One partner becomes single and pregnant and lacks much-needed support.

It may result in troubles in the relationship that could otherwise be avoided by communicating financial concerns and struggles. Saving money can certainly help with some of these problems. See these tips on how to save money during the year:

Work, transportation, and travel | Entertainment, technology, and health
Home, shopping, and food | Everyday expenses, finances, and more

You can also save money on taxes by keeping track of your finances, understanding your deductions, maximizing tax-free income, and using tax software to claim all credits and deductions you are entitled to.

The Marriage Penalty

What is a marriage tax penalty? A marriage tax penalty occurs only with certain state tax returns and not with the IRS of federal income tax return. For example, in a state that has the marriage tax penalty, when a couple files their state income tax return as married filing jointly they will pay more in state income taxes or have a higher effective tax rate compared to if they had filed their returns as two single taxpayers with the same amount of combined income.

As of 2022, the following sixteen states have an income tax related marriage tax penalty. Of these sixteen, Washington state does not have wage income tax, but a capital gains tax with a $250,000 filing threshold. The marriage tax penalty in Washington state exists because the $250,000 limit is not doubled for married filers.

The table below summarizes the 16 states with a marriage tax penalties plus those without a penalty or without income taxes.

Marriage Tax Penalty

States

Yes

California, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin

Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington D.C., and West Virginia,

No Income Tax

Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington State (no individual income tax but capital gains tax), and Wyoming

Want to put your finances back on track? Read on to find out how you can balance your money and save your love! Find more money saving tips.

eFile Tax Tips to Help Save Your Love!

Follow these eFile Tax Tips for managing your finances - your relationship - in 2023 which will be less taxing and have more value!

Need to pay off high debt? Want to save money on everyday expenses? Our money saving tips will help you accomplish all of your frugal goals (and you'll still have money left to buy your sweetheart a Valentine's Day gift!).
Adjust your W-4 if you get married; keep your money during the year to live off of larger paychecks rather than waiting on a big refund at the end the year.
If you're married, there are various tax return benefits for choosing one of two filing statuses: married filing jointly and married filing separately. Choose the filing status that best fits your situation!
Wondering if you can claim your girlfriend or boyfriend as a dependent? You may be able to claim him or her as a qualifying relative! However, if you are married, you can never claim your spouse as a dependent.
Have a child? You may be able to claim him or her as a qualifying child dependent. If you are not married, divorced, or share custody of a child, be sure you claim the dependent only for the tax year you are qualified to do so. See what to do if someone claims your dependent.
Complete and e-file your 2022 Tax Return on eFile.com. We will help you complete and e-file the correct form(s) for your tax situation based on your answers to the tax questions. Also, you can use our free 2022 Tax Refund Calculator to estimate your 2022 Taxes. Here are other reasons to e-file tax return on eFile.com.

Take control of your personal life relationships, finances, and taxes: follow the tips on this page and keep up with tax planning for next year. You can use this free 2023 Tax Refund Calculator to get a high-level understanding of your taxes.

Related Tax/Love Connections

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