Tax laws are penalizing couples for tying the knot
The SALT cap doubled to $40,000 — but not if you're married.
Every year, you face the same choice at tax time: take the standard deduction or itemize. For most working individuals, it simply made sense to take the standard deduction and call it a day, because the SALT (State and Local Taxes) deduction was handcuffed at $10,000 for years.
Under the newly passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), the script completely flipped. The new SALT cap skyrocketed to an unprecedented $40,000 starting in 2025.
Sounds like a massive win, right? It is — unless you are thinking about getting married.
The New Marriage Penalty
While the standard deduction doubles for married couples ($15,750 for singles and $31,500 for married filing jointly), the new SALT cap does not.
This means two unmarried individuals filing single each have their own individual caps, unlocking up to $80,000 in deductions. And if the same two people decide to tie the knot and file jointly, they are restricted to a single $40,000 cap.
Deduction headroom above the standard — same two people, different legal status
| Filing status | Standard | SALT cap | Extra headroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, each | $15,750 | $40,000 | $24,250 |
| Single × 2 combined | $31,500 | $80,000 | $48,500 |
| Married filing jointly | $31,500 | $40,000 | $8,500 |
As your income scales, the gap scales right along with it. If you live in a high-tax state and easily hit that cap, filing jointly could cost you a significant amount of money.
What's your next move?
Conventional wisdom has always said that marriage is the best way to reduce taxes, but as laws change that might not always be true.
If you want to see exactly how these new rules hit your specific situation, you can use Zero to run both scenarios and customize the simulation for your unique income and deductions.
Quick refresher
- Standard vs. itemized deductions. The standard is a flat dollar deduction; itemized lets you subtract specific eligible expenses (like SALT). You only itemize if your expenses add up to more than the standard amount.
- SALT. An itemized deduction that allows you to subtract certain taxes paid to state and local governments from your federal taxable income. This includes quarterly payments to states, as well as your prior-year tax payment.
- AGI (Adjusted Gross Income). Your total taxable income minus specific adjustments. This is the starting line for determining your final tax liability.