Forbes: How Marriage Can Boost or Cut Your Income Tax Bill

The article published in Forbes and titled "How Marriage Can Boost or Cut Your Income Tax Bill" highlights the ways in which marriage can affect income taxes.  Taxing combined incomes rather than separate ones may actually lead to a higher tax than if two individuals were filing separately.  Such "marriage penalty" occurs if the spouses' incomes are roughly in the same ballpark.  Of course, not all couples are subject to the "marriage penalty."  Some couples are actually enjoying a "marriage bonus."  Whether a couple falls into one category or the other depends on the respective incomes of spouses.