Intuitively it seems like the answer should typically be no, unless you do some sort of absurd trick to try to exploit this (e.g. you and your spouse both work for the same company, and you offer to take a paycut if your spouse gets an equal pay increase).
Hi satelliteprocess! I'm Grace, the Head of Marketing at GWWC.
While you can take a pledge as a couple, and choose to give 10% of combined income, we have many people who are married or in long term relationships who have taken a 10% Pledge, and give 10% of their own income, and do not factor in their partner's income.
So two answer your two questions in short:
If you have any further questions, you can get in touch with us at [email protected]
Okay, so "taxable units" have nothing to do with the Pledge then.
Thanks.
If you are married in the US, do you and your spouse both have to take 10% pledge of combined finances in order for you specially to be counted as 10% pledge?
Can it still be counted that you specially took 10% pledge if you donate 10% of your own income but not factor in your spouse’s?
I don't know if there is an official answer, but I would be very surprised if the 10% pledge required including your spouse's income as well.
I think the GWWC team generally (IMO correctly) cares more about people fulfilling the "spirit" of the pledge than splitting hairs over who has and hasn't fulfilled it in some technical sense. Including your spouse's income may make sense in some cases, but it probably depends on specifics that you should just make a call on.
Asked this question because in The Life You Can Save, there is a section dedicated to this question regarding the pledge :
"
I only earn $75,000, but my partner and I have a joint income of $150,000. Is it my own income or our joint income that I should enter when taking the pledge?
It depends on whether you both want to pledge, and on how you manage your finances. If you both want to pledge, then we suggest you take your combined income and enter that. Peter’s pledge calculations are based on “taxable units,” which refers to couples in the United States; in many countries, taxable units are individuals, whether married or not. If only one of you wants to pledge and you keep your finances separate, then enter your individual income."
So in general I was asking whether this was a similar part regarding the pledge as in if the married couple counts as a "taxable unit". So just clarifying then, whether finances are kept separate or put into a joint account, you only donate 10% of the income you bring to the table, not factor in total income and then take 10%?