Cheryl has been dating john brooks for nearly four years, and they are seriously thinking about getting married. john has income and itemized deductions that are identical to cheryl's. how much tax would they pay as a married couple (using the filing status of married filing jointly and a standard deduction of $11,600) versus the total amount the two would pay as single persons (each using the filing status of single) ?

From a tax perspective, it ultimately doesn't matter whether they file as singles or married jointly. According to my calculations, their taxes payed married jointly ($18,400) is actually the exact same as the sum of their individual taxable income ($9,200). Therefore, the amount of taxes they have to pay will also be the same. ($955 for each)

Single Married

Taxable Income = $9,200 Taxable Income = $18,400

$8,500*.10 = $850 $17,000*.10 = $1,700

$9,200-$8,500 = 700*.15 = $105 $18,400-$17,000 = $1,400*.15=$210

$105 + $850 $1,700 + $210

Taxes to pay: $955 Taxes to pay: $1,910