Tax Brake with Robert G. Nath, Esq.

Of special interest to married couples are the so-called “marriage penalty” relief provisions. But don't hold your breath; these provisions are somewhat hollow, at least for a few years. First, they don't start until 2005. (So that $600 refund check you are expecting this summer does NOT have anything to do with marriage penalty relief.) Then, the first part of the marriage penalty relief consists of a doubling of the standard deduction for joint filers. That is, joint filers will take twice the single-filer standard deduction. So itemizers get no help here. Moreover, that doubling is phased in over four years, ending in 2008.

Second, Congress provided that more people will be eligible for a lower, 15%, tax bracket. There, too, the new rate coverage is phased in, from 2005 to 2008.

So married couples will have to wait until 2008 for full “relief,” but even then, there will still be a partial penalty for some.

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