Thread by @bopinion

💍💸 Most people believe that marriage is an economically beneficial arrangement.

That’s not always true bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Take student loans, for example.

There is more than $1.57 trillion in outstanding federal student loans in the U.S.

Many borrowers are eligible for an income-based repayment plan trib.al/QkqXKw1

If you get married and file a joint tax return, your spouse’s income will be included in the calculation for how much you owe.

If both parties have debt and are on income-driven repayment plans, this payment hike could be lethal for a household budget trib.al/QkqXKw1

You can technically still file separately, but you won’t be receiving the same tax benefits of being married and filing jointly.

Income-driven repayment plan calculations are based on your adjusted gross income, family size and discretionary income trib.al/QkqXKw1

Say you earn $55,000 annually as a single taxpayer. Your monthly student loan payment would be capped just shy of $300.

But if you get married to someone who earns $100,000 annually, your monthly payment, if you file jointly, could jump to nearly $1,075 trib.al/QkqXKw1

For high-income earners, it can also be costly to get married from both a tax and student loan perspective trib.al/QkqXKw1

The “marriage tax penalty” used to happen a bit more frequently when the combination of both spouse’s salaries pushed them into a higher tax bracket.

The current 2021 tax code mostly only levies the penalty against high earners in the 37% tax bracket trib.al/QkqXKw1

Before legally yoking yourself to another person, it’s perfectly reasonable to pause and make sure a marriage license actually makes the most sense financially for you trib.al/QkqXKw1