<prompt> Human: I made 160K this year and own a house where I have paid about 9K in interest for the year of 2016. I have also put 18K towards my 401K this year. My soon to be wife, has only made around 10K shes been in school this year working part time. Would it make sense for me to legally get married this year so I can file jointly next year? Will my tax rate decrease at all?  <response>: Dont you love when you get exact opposite answers here on the interweb? :Traken is 100 correct. Boomboom and Wayward, sadly, are incorrect.If both partners make around the same amount of money there is a marriage penalty. Meaning in total youd pay more than if you were not married.However, if theres a big gap in incomes - like you earning 160k while your spouse earns 10k - theres a marriage bonus.You know I am right not by the fun and confident tone in my answer - but by my citing my source. From the key findings at the top:Marriage bonuses typically occur when two individuals with disparate incomes marry.Marriage penalties occur when two individuals with equal incomes marry; this is true for both high- and low-income couples.Marriage bonuses can be as high as 20 percent of a couples income, and marriage penalties can be as high as 12 percent of a couples income.You can read the article for more nitty gritty. 