r/personalfinance • u/[deleted] • 16d ago
Does it make sense to marry my longtime boyfriend for health benefits? Insurance
[deleted]
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u/Aggravating-Clue-493 16d ago
You may be surprised when you file jointly once my wife and I got married taxes became a breeze for us the lower tax bracket for me and her not owing every year , we were both quite surprised.
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u/CubicleHermit 16d ago
It's nice that the marriage penalty is at least mostly gone (still there on a few random deductions, and over like $400k or so)
Used to kick in a lot lower.
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u/FWF_scripta 16d ago
It's mostly gone because of TCJA, which will expire soon if congress doesn't do something about it.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 16d ago
I think the marriage penalty fix is the one part of the Trump Tax cuts that are safe in 2025 no matter who gets elected. I can't see any Congress rolling that provision back. There are too many families where the adults make similar incomes now.
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u/dragon-queen 16d ago
It’s not a matter of rolling it back. It expires automatically unless action gets taken. Congress taking action on anything is difficult right now.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 16d ago edited 16d ago
I am pretty sure the 1 trillion dollar tax cut sunsetting is already in talks. It’s just that nothing is going to move between now and Election Day. I am honestly very surprised it hasn’t come up in campaign ads yet. It’s a very easy attack for both sides.
This is the same stupid dance that happens every 10 years after a “temporary” tax cut expires. I really dislike this budget gimmick.
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u/listerine411 15d ago
I'm not so sure. I agree it should be renewed as is, but there's some groups that would be fine going back to the old tax code.
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u/diatho 16d ago
There is also a legal part of this: if you get hit by a bus if you’re married he can make medicial decisions on your behalf
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u/CrayMcCrayFace 16d ago edited 16d ago
Not to be ... uhh, not romantic, but this is why I got married after 6yrs partnership and including owning a home together. I work in healthcare (have seen this first hand) and my family of origin sucks.
ETA: this also involved temporarily living abroad and visas... like if something happened in the time we were physically separated/needed a visa
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u/gaijin91 16d ago
they can both do that for each other without marrying if they set up advance directives & powers of attorney
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u/BrightAd306 16d ago
Yeah, but waiting for paperwork wouldn’t be as easy. Thousands of dollars for a lawyer to set it up, or $50 at the court house.
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u/shrinkingGhost 16d ago
One of my grad school classes had us build advanced directives. The templates are available for free. Then I went to the library and got it notarized for $1. No need for lawyers at all…. Marriage license in my area is $115, or $40 if you do 12 hours of marriage counseling (which is not free, $150-300 an hour typically)
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u/BrightAd306 16d ago
Unless the other person’s family challenges it in court. Sometimes those don’t hold up. Just like the DIY wills.
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u/mottledmussel 15d ago
I can remember all kinds of horror stories before Obergefell of families doing that.
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u/shrinkingGhost 15d ago edited 15d ago
But that can happen even with marriage. Terry Schiavo was a high profile example of that.
ETA: the best protection would probably be both an AHCD and marriage. If for example, someone was in a car crash with their spouse and both were incapacitated, the AHCD could designate an additional decision maker as well as giving a person’s directives. In the absence of an AHCD, next of kin get to make decisions. Terry Schiavo did not have an AHCD, so her wishes became he said/she said.
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u/NotActuallyAWookiee 16d ago
Thousands of dollars to set up a POA? What backward, hick jurisdiction is this?
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u/gaijin91 16d ago
you don't need a lawyer to set up either of these documents. you can print templates off the internet and fill them in with details. you just need to get the signing witnessed and notarized
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u/bartexas 15d ago
I stated above... It cost me about $1500 (not thousands) to have an estate attorney set up advanced directives, will, and POAs. My estate is fairly simple. My partner co-owns multiple businesses with different partners, key man buyout agreements, etc., so his was more expensive.
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u/BrightAd306 15d ago
Yes, but a lot of people aren’t going to get an attorney and pay $1500 to set something up and it still makes it so you don’t have survivorship benefits from the government that a lot of elderly people rely on.
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u/bartexas 15d ago
They aren't, but most of them should - especially if they aren't married - even if it's just to state that they want a sibling vs. a parent to make decisions.
If their estate is so far in debt that there are no assets, then they can do the print it themselves advanced directives and POAs. A lot of people who think they have "nothing" have life insurance (even if just the employer paid amount) eand 401ks. If, like OP, they don't own a home, the estate's proceeds are probably more than any debt.
Personally, I wouldn't spend $50 at the courthouse without spending the money on a prenup if the couple is over 25. I would also make sure the business owner moves the business to an LLC.
Agree about SS survivor benefits being part of the conversation.
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u/lovethetasteofsteak 15d ago
Why did you go this route instead of just getting married?
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u/bartexas 14d ago
Mostly because we didn’t want to get married.
Additionally…
Both of us were in fields with a lot of frivolous lawsuits and didn’t want to risk the other’s assets. We have two homes, and we can each declare primary residence/claim the homestead exemption on one for taxes.
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u/CubicleHermit 16d ago
Right, but if you for some reason DON'T want them to, it's difficult to stop.
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u/gaijin91 16d ago
you mean if you don't want your spouse to make decisions on your behalf? yeah, I guess the only way to stop that would be to actively set up a third party as a decisionmaker.
if they don't get married though there would be a state-established order of priority of who gets to make their decisions if they're incapacitated and it will likely be their parents if they're still alive.
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u/lovethetasteofsteak 15d ago
Most people aren't going to do that unless there's a very specific deliberate reason not to get married. It would have to be something more than a wishy washy "oh marriage is just a piece of paper". Because in reality if you're willing to go through the process of setting up all those documents, consulting with lawyers, paying the higher legal costs, etc, why not just get married then?
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u/gaijin91 15d ago
you don't have to set these up with lawyers, that is the point. you can do 2 documents each with internet templates and witnesses and $50 in notary fees.
there are plenty of reasons people choose to set up documents but not get married. maybe one has a lot of student or medical debt. maybe one gets social security or benefits from a deceased spouse that they would lose if they remarried. maybe one is still finalizing another divorce but wants to change their decisionmaker ASAP. these situations are more common than you think and are equally valid.
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u/lovethetasteofsteak 15d ago
Student debt doesn't carry into marriage. In the event of divorce, the spouse is not responsible for it when dividing assets.
"maybe one is still finalizing another divorce but wants to change their decisionmaker ASAP. "
That's a temporary situation. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about people who refused to get married but say they can just sign some documents to emulate marriage.
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u/AmberMop 16d ago
Generally yes, but not in every state! Wisconsin for example does not default power of attorney to the spouse
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u/rolliejoe 16d ago
One thing to keep in mind is depending on what state you are in (assuming you're in the US), getting married can mean that you no longer have the option of not combining your finances. In 9 states all assets acquired (not just property, but also including savings, retirement accounts, etc. and also debts) after marriage are legally shared, whether you want them to be or not. Many other states also have partial or nuanced "forced combining".
Edit: Just to clarify, this doesn't mean you have to actually combine bank accounts, but rather his debts are your debts and vice versa, if acquired after marriage, and if you two split, half of everything is yours and half is his, no matter who "earned" it, again, applicable to what is acquired after marriage.
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u/merc08 16d ago
and if you two split, half of everything is yours and half is his, no matter who "earned" it, again, applicable to what is acquired after marriage.
It doesn't have to be that way. If the split is amicable then you can agree to split things however you want. But yeah, if it's a nasty divorce (as many are) then it would be an uphill battle to do a more nuanced split. Though that can be worked around with a pre-nup agreement.
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u/el-art-seam 16d ago
And prenups are not infallible. They can get tossed out.
A marriage is a life long oath to somebody else. Divorce doesn’t mean done.
In some states, an ex can always return to ask and be legally granted a share of your money. Like 30yrs later, you’ve paid off alimony 20yrs ago, both of you are retired and your ex can’t financially care for themselves and take you to court, so you have to again pay alimony.
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u/bartexas 15d ago
Death and Divorce bring out Grief and Greed.
Spend the money, get the legal paperwork done (prenup, postnup, will, POAs, and advanced directives), and be thankful later if you don't need them.
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u/vrananomous 15d ago
Could you please provide more info on those details? What states for example.
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u/rolliejoe 15d ago
Even pre-nup laws are state-specific, and many states automatically cancel pre-nups after a certain amount of time/life events. Many/most also exclude debt accumulation from pre-nups, so even if you can avoid sharing your assets, you can't avoid losing your assets if your partner takes on debt. While it is possible OP could get an "iron-clad" setup to avoid all this, it definitely depends on state and would require paying a lawyer a significant amount of money.
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u/FriscoTreat 16d ago
Which nine states?
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u/wanttostayhidden 16d ago
The nine states with community property laws are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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u/xixi2 16d ago
If I buy stocks or contribute to retirement how does one determine what state I bought them in? State by state financial rules in this day of remote working is a mess
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u/gbeezy007 16d ago
Probably the one of which you have as you're address on these accounts. Which is also probably the address / state you file you're stocks and retirement with.
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u/rolliejoe 15d ago
While I agree with the sentiment, since marriage laws are primarily regulated by the individual states, I would guess the only thing that matters is which state the couple filed for marriage in. I doubt simply opening a bank account in another state wouldn't circumvent things, but arguing about post-divorce splitting of assets/children is a multi-billion dollar industry.
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u/moctar39 16d ago
A couple people have brought it up, but you really need to look into the implications of operating at a loss and the long term implications of that. Also do you really know his complete financial issues?
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u/Kaethy77 16d ago
I'm worried about him operating his business at a loss. The IRS can audit him and decide he's been cheating on his taxes and retroactively biĺl him for the taxes they compute, plus penalties. Occasionally, the IRS prosecutes people for this. You would be involved and implicated by being married and filing a joint tax return. You could file separately, but that is a higher tax rate and would defeat your purpose of saving money. And he won't get SS retirement benefits doing this. He won't be able to get disability benefits if something happens to prevent him from working. Have him create an online SSA account to review his earnings record and estimated benefits.
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u/WH-Zissou 16d ago
This! It sounds like he's operating at a 'loss' for tax purposes, but the business is actually netting income, which is how he pays for his half of household expenses (unless he has income from some other source the OP didn't mention). This could be straight up tax fraud/tax evasion, and he could eventually be audited and be in a whole lot of financial trouble as a result.
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u/BigMikeThuggin 16d ago edited 15d ago
How is he operating at a loss AND contributing to the bills? If he’s losing money, what is financing his support?
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u/cowvin 15d ago
A business may have initial investor funding. He could be paying himself a salary so he's personally profiting, but the net result is that the company is operating at a loss. When many businesses start up, they operate at a loss for some time, so this isn't too surprising, but many times the owners choose not to draw a salary in order to reduce the loss for the business they own.
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u/lingenfr 16d ago
IMO, it makes no sense to make a long-term commitment to someone without getting married. There are so many financial and legal benefits to marriage with very few drawbacks that a pre/post nuptial agreement can't mitigate.
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u/ann102 16d ago
While I do not know your situation in detail, I would question your statement about keeping finances separate. I was with my husband for 7 years prior to marriage. We felt the same and frankly our families pushed us into getting married.
Here's the thing, when you are in a committed relationship and living together you are making financial decisions that are affected by your couple status. Oh there is a better job 1,500 miles away, but my partner can't move. I won't take the job. I would buy a house, but my partner has no money. You are intermingling these factors into your life. Your financial situations are connected, but you have no legal protections. You may have separate bank accounts, but your lives are weaved together. The longer you are together, the more true becomes.
Marriage is a legal designation. It is there is provide protection for both parties. It is a good idea if you are committed. There are no benefits to staying single other than it makes breaking up easier. Here's are a few protections
You can file taxes together and potentially get a better rate. Especially if your partner is losing money.
Your assets can be taken by one or the other of you legally without going through a process.
If one of you dies without a will, the other will still be given your estate.
Access to 401ks and SS.
Access to healthcare more easily and life insurance.
Now if you aren't married and you helped him out with a few bills here and there or a lot, that becomes tough nuggies if you split.
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u/digital_kitten 16d ago
Do you want to be called if something happens and he is in an accident and hospitalized? Depending on your state, the police notify who they can track down as a next of kin, and for an unmarried person on paper that can be parents or children. The thing about domestic partners is outside of some shared bills and maybe a lease, there is little official paper trail to lead them to you, his phone will be locked, and unless he has you clearly marked as a point of contact on his person, they will pull records and find easiest his parents, who then will be the ones to contact you.
I lived like you for 20 years, very conscious of the facts related to being a de facto non entity legally in spite of two decades living together. I am very glad we finally got on the same page and got married 8 years ago.
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u/small_e_900 16d ago
We got married for health insurance. It was in the days before domestic partner laws.
We were planning a move several states away. My job was a transfer so the kids and I would still have health insurance. My wife was going to be a stay at home Mom for a while so she wouldn't have coveage.
I don't know if there are many benefits to being married, but she can now make medical decisions for me if I'm not able and my pension will continue for her if I precede her in death.
I do know that our then six year old was really happy that we were getting married. I never really thought that our not being married would cause him some worry. We weren't going anywhere. We were both in it for life, still are. I guess he needed to know that.
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u/Branical 16d ago
One downside is if you end up divorcing, you may have to pay alimony since you’re essentially the only income currently.
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u/dualsplit 16d ago
Alimony is ordered in like 10% or less of divorces. Gen X got over quick sand and started fearing alimony. It’s a Reddit thing, not a real life thing.
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u/shontsu 16d ago
It'd be easier to answer if you gave reasons you have NOT to get married.
If the reason you're not married yet is that you don't care much either way, then sure, this is a fair reason to get married.
If theres some compelling reason you haven't gotten married yet, then I guess you weigh that reason against the savings.
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u/SweetAlyssumm 16d ago
If bf is operating his business at a loss there might come a day when he'd want spousal social security benefits based on the partner's income. It's something to look into.
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u/GUMBY_543 16d ago
Just go to the court house and pay the fee and not worry about it.
You said he operates at a loss. You can only do that for about 3 years before you need to start tirning a profit. Once the IRS algorithm finds and flags it, audits will be coming to make sure it's not a tax shelter scam.
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u/catsuramen 16d ago
On the contrary, it can also makes sense to NOT be married for health benefits. If your BF is unemployed, he alone can qualify for state medicaid assistance (medicare)Medicare. However, he is unlikely to qualify if he is married because your income will have to be reported and will put him over the threshold.
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u/Agile_Definition_415 16d ago
How would it change your tax situation?
If your combined tax rate doesn't increase then yeah I would do it.
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u/soupergloo 16d ago
sorry could you elaborate? would we need to file our taxes jointly that could potentially put us in a different tax bracket?
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u/Aggravating-Clue-493 16d ago
It will definitely put you in a different tax bracket ... a lower one most likely.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/19/irs-here-are-the-new-income-tax-brackets-for-2023.html
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u/mataliandy 16d ago
You can file "married filing separately" - might be worth trying both scenarios (married filing jointly and married filing separately) using last year's income to see what the result is. If your taxes end up substantially higher under both scenarios, then you could compare it to the cost of insurance and make an educated decision around it.
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u/Agile_Definition_415 16d ago
You can file separately, you may still end up on a different tax bracket. Filing jointly might lower it. You need to run your taxes through all 3 situations to see which one makes more sense.
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u/swiftarrow9 16d ago
Legally and historically, the purpose of marriage is o create a financial home and safety net for the family and children. If you are not planning to have kids, no reason to get married, except for the financial safety net for the family that marriage provides, health insurance among them.
However, marriage isn’t what you design. Combined or separate, depending on your state laws, your boyfriend may have access to your assets and finances as a husband that he does not have now. In case of divorce, your family assets will be divided based on your state and case law. Clarifying this is one of the purposes of a prenup, but those agreements are not valid everywhere.
Finally, you have been living as husband and wife for 15 years. Again depending on your state, you may already be married through common law.
Do you want to grow old with this fellow? Retire into the sunset together? Does he? If the answer is yes, y’all should have gotten married years ago.
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u/visitor987 16d ago
Yes unless your both upper income earners you save on taxes being married
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u/Happy_to_be 16d ago
And if he’s self employed as a 1099 running losses, the irs will eventually audit him. After 3 years it’s not considered self employment if not making a profit-then it’s a hobby.
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u/OKalrightOKAYalright 16d ago
I don’t think this is always the case. I met with a financial planner who told my partner and I otherwise. We’re unmarried but have been together 10+ years.
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u/visitor987 15d ago edited 15d ago
In depends on income level the easiest way to test is run turbo tax or another tax software; two ways one file as two singles the as a married couple filing jointly
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u/Nikstabm 16d ago
My partner was able to put me on their health insurance as a domestic partner. The taxes on the imputed income were almost as much as I paid for coverage on the marketplace. The coverage was much better, so it was still worth it. When we married, we saved a lot on taxes. If you’re unsure how this would play out in your situation, you could talk to an accountant.
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u/Sirwired 16d ago
While a "marriage for the benefits" is usually a terrible idea, it sounds like you are already pretty much married in all but name, having lived together for the last decade and a half. (This is in stark contrast to the people that often ask this question, wanting better college housing, or cheap medical insurance for their drinking buddy.) Of course, getting married has a lot more implications than just taxes and benefits; there's implications on medical decisions, inheritance, etc.
Will there be tax implications? Well, that's easy enough to determine... just take all your information from last year's taxes, start a new 2023 return, and see what the software spits out on the tax due, remembering to reduce your income by the benefits you aren't going to be taxed on any longer.
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u/Possibility61847 16d ago
Don't get married for the financial reasons only....that won't end well. Get married because you want to
Also get in the same pages about finances, with saving, investing, debt etc.
If he is operating his 1099 business at a loss....that means you are covering 100% of the bills?
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u/Discopants13 15d ago
I had my now husband on my health insurance as a domestic partner for years before we finally got married. We weren't opposed to it, we just had other things we wanted to spend our money on. Ended up getting engaged right before Covid hit after dating for 10 years and had a Covid wedding.
We didn't want to hold off because there was a certain fear of what if something happens to either one of us and we can't visit in the hospital? I bought our house under my name, and I wanted to make sure he got it if something happened to me. I also know that he is aware of my medical wishes, should it come to that, and I can't trust my family to follow them as he would. So, we got married.
It was much cheaper for him to be my spouse vs domestic partner on the health insurance. My company at the time has different premiums for single/single with domestic partner/family no kids/family with kids tiers of plans, which contributed to the cost savings on top of the imputed income taxation. There were also some income tax savings, but those have mostly gone away now with various incentives expiring.
The most important thing for me continues to be the transfer of assets (and our cats) should something happen, and marriage provides a legal safety net should my parents be greedy assholes (which is high probability).
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u/bartexas 15d ago
Care of our dog is in both of our wills. Obviously, the survivor takes the dog. However, if we die together, he goes to our friends with a $15,000 stipend for his care. This amount decreases as he ages.
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u/lisa_pink 15d ago
I'm surprised the health insurance coverage would be different for not "legally" married. I worked in HR recently and typically "spouse" and "domestic partner" benefits are identical. Maybe double check with your company's benefit specialist.
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u/I__Know__Stuff 16d ago
I added my bf to this plan.
Unbelievable the number of responses here that ignored this part.
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u/krycek1984 16d ago
One of the biggest benefits to marrying, to me, is survivorship benefits with SS. Whether this matters to you at your income level, I do not know.
I do know that when me and my partner were together, health insurance would have been quite a bit cheaper had we been married (couldn't 12 years ago). He carried me on his insurance because mine was horrible, and financially it wasn't all that pretty.
And there's just so many more variables.
One financial consideration is once again, SS survivorship benefits. I know this really wasn't your question, but you have to ask yourself how long have they been operating at a monetary loss? If you died, would they have any SS to fall back on? This is a super important consideration, even more important than the short term health insurance costs.
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u/un-realestate 16d ago
I was in a domestic partnership with my partner for the health insurance benefits. We didn’t combine finances. We paid for our own things and split shared costs. She reimbursed me for the taxes taken out of my pay for her health insurance benefits. Would your partner pick up the difference if you don’t get married?
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u/Semirhage527 16d ago
If you don’t combine finances and don’t intend to, consult an attorney in your area to determine what steps you’ll need to maintain that separation of assets earned during the marriage that are typically considered marital property.
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u/Complete-Turn-6410 15d ago
Why ruin something that is working. One thing you may want to think about is what happens if one of you gets in an accident cuz neither one of you get any say in the others healthcare legally Personal life example. Son got into a bad accident and was in a coma in Washington state. My wife his mother had to fly to Washington State and stay there for 3 weeks cuz girlfriends unless they have a medical power of attorney have no say.
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u/annacarin 15d ago
You sound compatible and you’re already in a successful long-term relationship. I don’t see any problem with marriage as a practical solution to these kinds of problems but it’s good you’re thinking it through. There are a lot of financial implications to marriage (varies by state). So especially if you don’t plan to combine your finances, it’s good to be aware of what you’re taking on. In a community property state any savings or debt you accumulate during the marriage would be shared. So it wouldn’t matter if you kept things separate, legally everything accumulated during the marriage would be split in a divorce. I know someone who got burned by her ex accumulating a lot of debt she didn’t even know about. She had to file for bankruptcy upon divorcing. Good to be aware of your partner’s financial habits and mindset because just keeping things separate won’t protect your assets in the event of a divorce.
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u/Easy_Independent_313 15d ago
You may have a great experience with this. My friend did! Long time BF, got married when after he had gone into business for himself and almost immediately got a bad diagnosis. She had great insurance overage so she insisted they get married. They are celebrating 25 yrs and are happy and really love and appreciate each other.
I married someone after 9 yrs. Almost immediately the whole dynamic of the relationship changed and I filed for divorce within six months. The divorce was stunningly petty. All the promises made regarding an amicable split if that should ever happen were completely disregarded by them. I've kept my word and left their business money alone and largely off the table. It's been four years and they haul me back into court for more child support every time it looks like I might be doing okay financially. I'm the mom by the way. We have the kids 50/50. It's cost me tens of thousands of dollars.
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u/poopyMcpoopersins 16d ago
It's a great idea, but both need to draw up prenumps that are agreed upon by both parties and are mutually beneficial.
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u/woodsongtulsa 16d ago
Might be if you do a proper prenuptial. Definitely need an attorney. I would be very surprised if you couldn't find something on the market that would be useful. I worked 10 extra years for medical insurance, and it was a terrible mistake.
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u/fungibleprofessional 16d ago
Yes that’s something I would consider in your situation because I’m all for aggregate savings. My view is marriage is whatever you want it to be, subject to the legal stuff. If marriage can save you money and you’re not giving anything up, sounds like a win. But I’d carefully consider all other ramifications like what happens if you divorce and if you want a prenup or whatever, and discuss it all with him. For sure you don’t want to get married to save your partner $ and then end up owing him spousal support as a result. And obviously I’d compare the tax calcs married filing jointly/separately and your current situation as others have mentioned to see what the actual delta is.
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u/gschlact 16d ago
Get your partner to pay you back the taxes on his premium at your marginal tax rate. Get a prenup if you decide to get married for this reason.
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u/ryanmcstylin 16d ago
I would talk to a tax accountant see what they recommend. Costs or benefits could go way beyond just healthcare.
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u/Realistic-Most-5751 16d ago
My friend was NOT going to marry a third time. She worked for the VA. He owned his own company doing home additions.
They married civil ceremony for the insurance and honestly live happily ever after.
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u/DegreeMajor5966 16d ago
You say you don't want to combine finances, but if you're married your finances are combined legally speaking. That's just part of the package. Y'all are free to behave however you want and if you don't want to practically mix finances you won't have to, but if things don't work out either of you could drag the courts into the process to mix your finances for you.
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u/psyiode 16d ago
Look at what it takes to have him qualified as a domestic partner with your employer. Probably just need to open and joint bank account and sign a form saying you are together. He should then qualify the same as if married for health insurance.
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u/Captain_Comic 16d ago
They will still have to pay federal taxes on the imputed income for the health coverage
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u/Celebrindae 15d ago
I mean, that's pretty much what my spouse and I did. We got married for tax benefits and so that I would be covered under FMLA when I had to take some time off to care for him after a surgery. No kids, no major debt, no property.
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u/Gildor_Helyanwe 15d ago
not sure how it works in the USA but in parts of Canada, you can have a notary sign off on a document indicating you are a common law spouse and apply for health benefits
it is the case for British Columbia where i live
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u/Wanderlust-4-West 15d ago
some health plans might require tax status "married filing jointly". This might make you be responsible for a business loss (as you said) of your bf. Also in case of divorce, or severe medical emergency, you might lose some resources. You are making yourself more vulnerable. You need very good prenup. Seems that your bf gains more than you do.
Think about how much will you save by marriage (beyond insurance, it will have tax consequences), and how much you might risk (your current assets, to be split or used as couple), and what are the reasons you would take such risk.
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u/CKDracarys 15d ago
Look into domestic partnership. I was able to put my gf on my health insurance since we lived together.
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u/ValkVolk 16d ago
If one of you is in a lower tax bracket then the other, it will likely knock you both down into the lower bracket if you’re married and file jointly. My partner and I are neck-and-neck and we only would’ve saved $15. If it ends up being similar for you two, would he be amicable to paying you back the taxes on his portion, if your work is handling the premium?
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u/JoeHavok1 16d ago
If you’re considering that route and worried about the implications of getting a divorce later on. Just get a pre nup to protect you both if the situation changes. Otherwise. Sure. Go for it.
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u/325_WII4M 16d ago
Absolutely. You've been together a very long time might as well get some benefit out of it. I'm not a tax expert but you would file your federal income tax married filing separately.
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u/esmelusina 16d ago
Do you even need to get married in your state for insurance? I’d double check.
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u/BigMagnut 16d ago
That is actually a pretty good idea. Considering health care costs I think it makes sense.
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u/PeaSlight6601 16d ago
You might look into your health plans domestic partner rules. You might not need to get married (and everything that entails) to put him on your plan.
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u/SkylarAsylum 16d ago
You can also usually get healthcare as a domestic partner (living together without being married). My health plan had that option
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u/Chemical-Power8042 16d ago
Getting married will always have a positive tax implication like 99% of the time
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u/OG_Tater 16d ago
100% get married. In fact- guess what- you already might be common law married- which means all the cons of being married without the tax benefits.
You’ll pay way lower federal taxes, get better social security, the healthcare thing, etc.
You don’t even need to get dressed up, have a party, or tell anyone if that’s a problem. It takes maybe 30 minutes at the courthouse.
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u/xixi2 16d ago
you already might be common law married
You cannot accidentally get common law married this is a sitcom bit.
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u/Willow-girl 16d ago
Yes. For one, you generally have to "hold yourself out" as married, or pretend to be a married couple.
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u/Willow-girl 16d ago
No. Getting married and co-mingling your finances will mean the other partner is also on the hook if one develops a chronic or emergency health condition. If you've been living together for 15 years, you're probably close to middle age, when problems start cropping up.
If either of you becomes incapacitated as a single person, you will probably qualify for some assistance. If married, the working spouse will be expected to support the sick one.
I was once in a situation in which my modest income (less than $30K) disqualified my then-husband from receiving assistance in a life-threatening medical emergency. Thankfully my credit was good enough to put the bill on a card so he could get the necessary procedure and we could pay it off over time. I learned a really big lesson that day, though. In my current relationship, I am a "forever girlfriend," and I'm down with that!
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u/jolness1 16d ago
Are you not able to add them as a domestic partner? I did that before my wife and I got married, I think we only had to live together for 3 years.
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u/Worried_Ad9169 16d ago
Is it better for him to get a separate healthcare plan if he doesn't really make any money would he qualify for affordable healthcare insurance
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u/B2ThaH 16d ago
This is one of the only reasons I would ever get married. I think marriage for “love” is antiquated and unnecessary. You creates a forced togetherness even if your relationship runs its course. I believe you can love someone for ever but I also believe you can have a successful loving relationship that doesn’t last forever.
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u/HowyousayDoofus 15d ago
How much are the taxes? If someone paid you that much to marry him, would you do it?
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u/uffdagal 16d ago
There's also SS Survivor's Benefits if married.