Two Incomes One Plan

In nearly half of married households, both spouses work, and this episode is about what happens the moment two incomes get combined on paper. We unpack how tax thresholds for the top bracket, the investment income surtax, and the Medicare surtax don't simply double for couples, pushing dual-income pairs into extra tax faster than they'd expect. We also cover the planning tools, like spousal Social Security benefits, spousal IRAs, and gift splitting, that only exist once you're coordinating as a household. And the research on money and marriage delivers a surprising verdict: couples who merge finances tend to fare better, not worse, than those who keep things separate.