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The amount withheld from each of your paychecks by your employer (to be forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service for federal taxes owed on your earned income) can differ depending on whether you file as single or married.
When you start a new job, you’ll be asked to fill out IRS Form W-4, otherwise known as an Employee’s Withholding Certificate. With the information you supply, your employer will calculate how much money to withhold.
The first section of the W-4 form asks whether you are “single or married filing separately,” “married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er),” or “head of household.” The box you check will determine the amount that is withheld from your pay as estimated taxes.
You want to get this right. Underpaying can get you stuck with a big bill at tax time. Overpaying means less money in your pocket until tax time.
Key Takeaways
- IRS Form W-4, which you file with your employer when you start a job, is used by your employer to calculate how much to withhold from your paycheck to cover taxes.
- The form asks whether you are single or married, whether you have any dependents and, if so, how many.
- In general, married couples who file their taxes jointly will have less withheld from their paychecks than single filers.
Single Withholding
The three boxes on the W-4 form—single or married filing separately, married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er), and head of household—correspond to the five filing statuses that taxpayers can choose from when they complete their annual Form 1040 tax returns.
Single taxpayers have two main options. They can file as a single filer or, if they are unmarried and support a qualifying person, they can file as a head of household (HOH).
Those who have lost a spouse during the tax year can indicate this by checking the qualifying surviving spouse box.
Married Withholding
Married taxpayers can opt to file jointly on one tax return or separately on different returns—whichever is more advantageous in their situation.
All else being equal, married taxpayers who plan to file jointly will have a smaller percentage of their pay withheld than singles or people with other statuses.
In addition, filing a joint tax return will result in a lower tax bill in most cases because it allows for a number of tax breaks not available to other filers. In less common cases, filing separately is advantageous.
Fast Fact
The box you check on your W-4 will determine the standard deduction and tax rates that are used to calculate your withholding.
Standard Deductions and Tax Rates
Standard Deductions
For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the portion of income that is not subject to tax is $15,000 for the 2025 tax year. Married individuals filing jointly get double that deduction, with a standard deduction of $30,000. For heads of households, the standard deduction is $22,500.
Tax Rates
Single filers are taxed at the lowest marginal tax rate of 10% on their first $11,925 in taxable income earned in the 2025 tax year.
Married couples filing jointly are taxed at the 10% rate on their first $23,850 in taxable income earned in the 2025 tax year.
At higher marginal tax brackets, married taxpayers filing jointly continue to benefit.
For reference, the tables below provide the federal tax rates and income brackets for all filing statuses for the tax years 2024 and 2025.
| 2024 Federal Tax Brackets and Rates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Tax Rate | Single | Married Filing Jointly | Head of Household | Married Filing Separately |
| 10% | $0 to $11,600 | $0 to $23,200 | $0 to $16,550 | $0 to $11,600 |
| 12% | $11,601 to $47,150 | $23,201 to $94,300 | $16,551 to $63,100 | $11,601 to $47,150 |
| 22% | $47,151 to $100,525 | $94,301 to $201,050 | $63,101 to $100,500 | $47,151 to $100,525 |
| 24% | $100,526 to $191,950 | $201,051 to $383,900 | $100,501 to $191,150 | $100,526 to $191,950 |
| 32% | $191,951 to $243,725 | $383,901 to $487,450 | $191,151 to $243,700 | $191,951 to $243,725 |
| 35% | $243,726 to $609,350 | $487,451 to $731,200 | $243,701 to $609,350 | $243,726 to $365,600 |
| 37% | $609,351 or more | $731,201 or more | $609,351 or more | $365,601 or more |
| 2025 Federal Tax Brackets and Rates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Tax Rate | Single | Married Filing Jointly | Head of Household | Married Filing Separately |
| 10% | $0 to $11,925 | $0 to $23,850 | $0 to $17,000 | $0 to $11,925 |
| 12% | $11,926 to $48,475 | $23,851 to $96,950 | $17,001 to $64,850 | $11,926 to $48,475 |
| 22% | $48,476 to $103,350 | $96,951 to $206,700 | $64,851 to $103,350 | $48,476 to $103,350 |
| 24% | $103,351 to $197,300 | $206,701 to $394,600 | $103,351 to $197,300 | $103,351 to $197,300 |
| 32% | $197,301 to $250,525 | $394,601 to $501,050 | $197,301 to $250,500 | $197,301 to $250,525 |
| 35% | $250,526 to $626,350 | $501,051 to $751,600 | $250,501 to $626,350 | $250,526 to $375,800 |
| 37% | $626,351 or more | $751,601 or more | $626,351 or more | $375,801 or more |
Important
If your marital status changes, you’ll want to submit a new W-4 form so your employer can adjust your tax withholding.
How Dependents Change Your Tax Withholding
The IRS substantially redesigned the W-4 form in 2020, when the personal exemption was eliminated. If you haven’t filled out a W-4 since then, you will find it looks very different today.
Notably, the form no longer asks you to calculate (or guess at) your number of withholding allowances.
Instead, taxpayers whose income is under $400,000 (for married individuals filing jointly) or $200,000 (for other filing statuses) are instructed to multiply their number of qualifying children under age 17 by $2,000 and any other dependents by $500 and enter those dollar figures on the form.
Using that information, plus your filing status, your employer will calculate how much to withhold from your pay.
Other Considerations
Bear in mind that if you have more money withheld from your paycheck than is necessary, you should get it back later as a tax refund. But if you have too little withheld, you’ll face an unexpected tax bill at filing time and quite likely an underpayment penalty as well.
It’s wise to fill out a new W-4 for your employer when your circumstances change, such as switching from “single” to “married” or vice versa. You’ll avoid the headache of having too much or too little withheld from your paycheck.
Tip
The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator can help you determine if you’re underpaying or overpaying. If you’re doing either, you should fill out a new W-4.
Can I File As Single If I’m Married?
No. If you’re legally married, you can’t file as single. You have two options: “married filing jointly” and “married filing separately.” The latter has similar tax rates as filing as single, but you don’t get some tax breaks you get in a joint return. In other words, it may not be in your best interest to choose this option.
There are, however, rare cases in which filing separately makes sense financially—such as when one spouse is eligible for substantial itemizable deductions.
To determine which option is best for you, run some calculations on the IRS worksheets and consider talking to a tax professional.
Is Filing Single the Same As Filing As Head of Household?
No, filing single is not the same as filing head of household. A head of household must be single, cover 50% or more of the expenses of a household, and have a qualifying dependent. A single parent or a sole wage-earner caring for an aged relative might be a head of household.
If you meet the criteria, you’re better off filing as a head of household because you’ll get preferential tax treatment.
Do I Get a Bigger Tax Refund If I File As Married Filing Jointly?
In most cases, you will get a bigger refund or a lower tax bill if you file jointly with your spouse. There are a few situations in which filing separately can be more advantageous, including when one spouse has significant miscellaneous deductions or medical expenses.
The Bottom Line
Choosing the right filing status is important to avoid underpaying or overpaying your taxes all year long. Make sure you examine which status applies to you before checking the box and, if two of them apply, look into which one can save you more money.
Tax forms can be confusing, so if you find yourself stuck, don’t hesitate to ask your employer or a tax professional for help.
Correction—Feb. 7, 2025: This article was edited to clarify that you can’t file your taxes as single if you’re married, but you can use the option “married filing separately.”
