United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-09-03 monographic deposited born digital 42 p. GA 1.13:GGD-96-175 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175 P0b002ee180379a0c f:gg96175 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175 GGD-96-175 Personal income taxes Taxpayers Tax administration Tax law Tax credit Fines (penalties) Letter Report GGD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on certain income tax code provisions that result in marriage penalties or marriage bonuses, focusing on: (1) those income tax provisions that depend on taxpayers' marital status for their applicability; and (2) the number of taxpayers affected by marriage penalties or bonuses.<p/>GAO found that: (1) there are 59 provisions in the income tax code where tax liability depends at least partially on the taxpayer's marital status; (2) the provisions on the tax rate, the standard deduction, and the earned income credit are most commonly discussed in connection with marriage penalties and bonuses; (3) nine provisions, such as those on the tax rate and social security taxation, make some adjustment for the differences between joint and single income, but adjustments for married couples filing jointly are less than twice those allowed to single taxpayers; (4) those tax provisions limiting capital losses and the home mortgage interest deduction have only one limitation that applies equally to married and single taxpayers; (5) nine other provisions, such as those on the personal exemption, treat married couples as if they are single individuals or provide couples with twice the benefit allowed a single person; (6) 26 provisions treat a married couple as a unique, indivisible unit for tax purposes; (7) 56 of the 59 tax provisions could result in a marriage penalty or bonus depending on the taxpayer's individual circumstances; (8) the single most important factor that determines the provisions' effect on married couples is how income is divided between spouses; (9) couples with disparate incomes generally could enjoy a marriage bonus, while couples with equivalent incomes generally incur a marriage penalty; (10) other factors affecting couples' tax liability include which spouse owns property, has capital gains or losses, and is qualified for tax deductions and credits; and (11) the impact of marriage penalties and bonuses varies widely, both in terms of the number of taxpayers affected and the dollar amounts involved, but existing data is insufficient to quantify these numbers. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175.pdf GAO/GGD-96-175 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-96-175 Letter Report GAO/GGD-96-175; Tax Administration: Income Tax Treatment of Married and Single Individuals; Personal income taxes Taxpayers Tax administration Tax law Tax credit Fines (penalties)