Who's on (the 1040) First? Determinants and Consequences of Spouses' Name Order on Joint Returns
Married couples filing a joint return put the male name first 88.1% of the time in tax year 2020, down from 97.3% in 1996. The man’s name is more likely to go first the larger is the fraction of the couple’s allocable income that goes to him, and the older is the couple. Based on state averages, putting the man’s name first is strongly associated with conservative political attitudes, religiosity, and a survey-based measure of sexist attitudes. Risk-taking and tax noncompliance are both associated with the man’s name going first.
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Copy CitationEmily Y. Lin, Joel Slemrod, Evelyn A. Smith, and Alexander Yuskavage, "Who's on (the 1040) First? Determinants and Consequences of Spouses' Name Order on Joint Returns," NBER Working Paper 31404 (2023), https://doi.org/10.3386/w31404.Download Citation
Published Versions
Emily Y. Lin & Joel Slemrod & Evelyn Smith & Alexander Yuskavage, 2025. "Who’s on (the 1040) first? Determinants and consequences of spouses’ name order on joint returns," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 32(4), pages 957-994, August, DOI: 10.1007/s10797-024-09876-3. citation courtesy of 
Emily Y. Lin & Joel Slemrod & Evelyn Smith & Alexander Yuskavage, 2025. "Who’s on (the 1040) first? Determinants and consequences of spouses’ name order on joint returns," International Tax and Public Finance, vol 32(4), pages 957-994.
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