Raghav Chadha pitches for joint tax filing for married couples to improve tax equity

Illustrating the disparity, he cited two examples: in one case, both spouses earn ₹10 lakh each and pay zero tax, while in another, a single-income household earning ₹20 lakh pays ₹1.92 lakh in tax, despite both families having the same total income.

“The only difference is how the salary is split between the two spouses,” he said, adding, “One roof. One kitchen. One household budget. But when tax time comes, the family disappears. The tax system sees two individuals. A husband and wife become strangers. No clubbing of income or rebates.”

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“If there is joint filing of ITR, marital couples will get greater relief of income tax,” he said.

Raghav Chadha cited another example of a married couple to highlight the disparity. In this case, an IT professional earns ₹18 lakh while his wife earns ₹6 lakh, taking their combined income to ₹24 lakh. Under the current system, the husband pays around ₹1.5 lakh in tax while the wife pays none. However, if their incomes were clubbed through joint filing, the total tax liability could drop to zero.

He argued that introducing joint filing of income tax returns would allow married couples to be treated as a single economic unit, enabling better tax equity. It would also allow a single-income or higher-earning spouse to utilise the unused tax exemptions of the other. According to him, such a system could curb income diversion and, he added on a lighter note, may even encourage more people to marry to avail of tax benefits.

Chadha further pointed out that while India’s tax framework recognises entities such as partnerships, joint tax structures and the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) as separate assessees, it does not treat the most fundamental unit, the nuclear family of a husband and wife, as a single taxable entity, something he believes should be addressed.

He added that joint income taxation for married couples is already followed in several developed economies, including France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. The proposal, he said, aims to bring greater equity for single-income households while ensuring they receive tax benefits comparable to dual-income families.