Anonymous wrote:My DH is doing PSLF. Getting married was the worst financial decision of my life.

How so? Please give us advice!

Financially, the best play is don't get married.

Op—there is a legal marriage and a religious marriage. Have the religious ceremony but not the legal one. The legal one causes the tax issues. The religious one offers the ability oncommit to on another in front of friends and family.

If you’re in track to get married, you should be able to have an open discussion with your fiancée about the very real and annual financial impacts.

My DH is doing PSLF. Getting married was the worst financial decision of my life.

Anonymous wrote:Don't marry until you need to -- ie., when you have a kid.

Why get married when you have a kid? I have been with my unofficial spouse for more than a decade. Our DC is now almost nine. We won't get married until it makes financial sense. Until then, we are happy as is. Everyone thinks we're married. No one asks for the marriage certificate. I refer to him as my husband. I am known as his wife. We wear wedding bands.
We may get officially married when I retire, but for now, we have every benefit we need. As well, we've both been married before. For each of us, this unmarried thing is our most successful relationship yet. Knowing the other "could" leave (but not really) makes us work harder to make our "marriage" successful. It may not be for everyone, but it works for us.

Anonymous wrote:Speak to an accountant? I thought married people get more tax benefits than singles in this country.

Only if they have dependents. Two individuals married lose out on so many tax incentives by signing a marriage certificate.

Anonymous wrote:Speak to an accountant? I thought married people get more tax benefits than singles in this country.

The tax code is written to advantage a married couple with a SAH spouse who doesn't earn income.

I make $125K and she makes $135K. The new bill especially screws over two working spouses with similar incomes.

I guess you never send in the marriage certificate?

Anonymous wrote:Only get married if its benefits you in someway .

Well, I love my fiancee and want to commit to a life together in a meaningful way in front of our family and friends. Plus, we want to start a family. But this is coming at a very real cost that will impact our financial future.

It's a bit odd, but it is what it is.

Speak to an accountant? I thought married people get more tax benefits than singles in this country.

Anonymous wrote:Op, what do you think your options are? Most people’s lie don’t view a marriage in strictly financial terms.

*most people don’t

Only get married if its benefits you in someway .

Op, what do you think your options are? Most people’s lie don’t view a marriage in strictly financial terms.

Don't marry until you need to -- ie., when you have a kid.

Ok, so how can I handle this with my fiancee? We are planning to get married later this year - own a home together, have rental property, share a credit card for all expenses (that we pay off monthly), etc.

However, we continue to keep separate finances. I have my own investments and pension; she has her own investments and has stock in previous companies. We do pretty well.

I just ran the numbers and we are going to get killed if we get married:

1. We take itemized deductions on our taxes and will continue to itemize post-marriage due to the high interest payments on our recently purchased home and rental property. The tax bill limits to SALT deduction to $10K per single OR married couple. So, essentially, we get $20K of SALT today as singles and we lose $10K of SALT deductions by just getting married.

2. I am Fed and qualify for PSLF for my student loans. My loan payments would nearly double just by getting married (from $750/month to $1500/month) because they would incorporate her income into my repayment ability. This happens whether we file jointly or separately. I'm half-way to qualifying for loan forgiveness of the balance - another 5 years to go.

What's the best play here? We fully fund our retirements up to the pre-tax limit ($18K) and our gross HHI is about $260K.