I’m Sick of the Single Person Tax

Most of the time, I enjoy being single. No worries, no compromising, no sharing a bathroom. You get it.

And then comes tax time.

I’ll make more this year than I’ve ever made. I’m fortunate and grateful.

I’ll gross about $195k in 2022. With contributions to my retirement, HSA, and some other things, my taxable income should be around $157k.

After the standard deduction, my tax bill will be about $28,500.

If I were married, though, and the taxable household income was the same $157k, my tax bill would be less. A LOT less.

How, you ask?

Simple. The brackets, by design, incentivize married people.

Using real numbers:

Taxable: $157,000
Standard Deduction: ($12,950)
Adjusted Gross Income: $144,050

This puts me in the 24% tax bracket. It breaks down like this:

10% $0 — $9,950 ($995)
12% $9,951 — $40,525 ($3,669)
22% $40,526 — $86,375 ($10,087)
24% $86,376 — $144,050 ($13,842)

My total? $28,593