News Release

April 22, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – Various state and federal tax provisions and programs may create a “marriage penalty” or a “marriage bonus.” A new report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute focuses on selected state-level policies to determine whether they create different levels of marriage penalties, many of which tie directly to federal policies carried into state-administered programs.

“A marriage penalty arises when tax structures, welfare program eligibility rules, or other government programs place a disproportionate burden on a married couple compared to two unmarried individuals, effectively providing a financial disincentive to marry,” said Maddy Oritt, senior public finance economist at the Gardner Institute. “While some marriage penalties, both direct and implicit, exist in Utah’s tax structure and benefit programs, they are relatively few and limited in scope.”

Key findings from the report include the following:

Taxes – Statutory marriage penalties typically do not exist within Utah’s general tax structure (e.g., income tax, state sales tax, property tax, and gas tax) due to the overall tax system design. However, marriage penalties exist within Utah-targeted tax credits, often related to credit phaseout levels.

Benefit Programs – Marriage penalties exist in various state and federal benefit programs that the state administers.

Federal Program Ties – Many, but not all, tax provisions or benefit programs with marriage or household penalties align with federal provisions.

The report also details the following marriage-related penalties, ranked from most explicit to most implicit:

Single to Married – A married couple’s benefit or income threshold does not exactly double the benefit or income threshold for a single person.

Head of Household to Married – Head of household (a single person with a dependent) receives a benefit greater than half that of a married couple.

Household Composition – Benefits scaled based on household size do not increase proportionally for each additional household member, nor does household income determine eligibility. This occurs with both married and cohabiting couples.

The full report is now available online.

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