The chart below calculates the difference in effective tax rates between filing at a joint rate and a single rate at the listed income levels. This change in tax rates is sometimes called the “Widow’s Penalty” and can be an important adjustment for your clients to consider. When running tax analysis reports for your clients through Stonewood’s Roth Done Right software, the effective tax rate increases below can be used to help educate your clients and populate the “Tax Change at Death” field. Please note this chart assumes the client’s adjusted gross income remains the same regardless of filing status.