It looks like taxes increase and any kind of post-life planning can be done with a few legal filings rather than getting married. Is there any real benefit? It kinda seems like it’s just a way to trap people in relationships, probably traditionally, the woman.
Marriage tax penalties usually affect high income, especially where both spouses make a lot. In many cases taxes go down.
Mine went down, for sure, but I’m a sole earner.
I was married (now divorced) and ours definitely went up. We both made about 45k at the time.
If you both make around the same, you’ll see it go up. If you make vastly different amounts (such as by having only one income), it’ll go down.
American marriage tax codes are written to benefit the sort of couple with a stay-at-home-spouse. Having one person without an income (or with a significantly lower income) in the marriage effectively pulls you down in the tax brackets as a whole.