Should I File Taxes Jointly or Separately? – Avoid This Mistake + FAQs

Yes — most married couples should file jointly to get the best overall tax outcome.

However, there are critical exceptions where choosing Married Filing Separately (MFS) makes sense. Understanding those exceptions (and the IRS rules behind them) can save you money and headaches.

According to a 2023 IRS report, over 95% of married couples file a joint tax return. Yet many spouses still wonder if they should file separately to save money or simplify things.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• ⚖️ Joint vs Separate: Key differences and pros vs cons (with IRS data revealing how 95% of couples file)

• 🚫 What NOT to do: Common mistakes couples make when choosing a filing status

• 🧮 Real-world examples: Three scenarios crunching the numbers on joint vs separate (see how the outcomes compare)

• 💡 Hidden exceptions: When filing separately might save you money (think huge medical bills or lowering student loan payments)

• 🏛️ State laws & quirks: How community property and state rules can change your plan

What NOT to Do When Choosing a Filing Status

When deciding between Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or Married Filing Separately (MFS), beware of these pitfalls:

• ❌ Don’t assume filing separately will save you money. In ~90% of cases it won’t (you usually end up paying more). Always calculate your taxes both ways (or use tax software) to compare before you decide.

• ❌ Don’t double-dip deductions or dependents. If you file separate returns, you and your spouse cannot claim the same dependent or deduction on both forms. For example, you can’t both claim the same child or split a single expense — only one of you gets to claim each tax benefit.

• ❌ Don’t mix and match deductions improperly. If one spouse itemizes deductions on a separate return, the other spouse must itemize as well (even if they have few deductions). One spouse taking the standard deduction while the other itemizes is not allowed in the MFS status.

• ❌ Don’t file as Single or Head of Household if you’re married. If you’re legally married and living together, you generally must file either jointly or separately. (Head of Household is only for those who qualify by living apart and supporting a dependent, under strict rules.)

• ❌ Don’t miss your chance to switch. Once you file a joint return for a year and the tax deadline passes, you typically cannot change to separate returns for that year. (By contrast, if you filed separate, you can usually amend to a joint return within three years.)

Key Terms to Know

Understanding the lingo will help you navigate this topic:

• Married Filing Jointly (MFJ): A filing status for married couples where both spouses file one combined tax return together. You report all income, deductions, and credits jointly on one Form 1040, and both spouses sign the return. This status usually provides the lowest tax rates and largest standard deduction for married couples.

• Married Filing Separately (MFS): A filing status for married couples where each spouse files their own tax return separately. Income and deductions are split between spouses, and each files a Form 1040 individually. MFS status denies or limits many tax benefits (credits and deductions) and often results in a higher overall tax bill, except in specific circumstances.

• Joint and Several Liability: The legal rule that when you file a joint return, both spouses are 100% responsible for the entire tax bill. If there is any additional tax due, underpayment, or penalty, the IRS can come after either spouse (or both) for the full amount.

• Innocent Spouse Relief: An IRS provision that can relieve one spouse of tax liability if the other spouse misreported income or fraud on a joint return without the first spouse’s knowledge. If your spouse made a serious error (or intentional fraud) on a joint return, you can apply for this relief so you aren’t held responsible for their mistake.

• Injured Spouse Claim: A form of relief (IRS Form 8379) for a spouse who filed jointly and had their portion of a joint refund taken to cover the other spouse’s debts (like overdue student loans or child support). An injured spouse claim can get back the share of the refund that belongs to the unaffected spouse.

• Adjusted Gross Income (AGI): Your gross income (wages, interest, business income, etc.) minus certain above-the-line adjustments (such as deductible IRA contributions or student loan interest). AGI is the number used to determine many tax calculations and eligibility for credits/deductions.

• Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI): Your AGI after adding back certain deductions or exclusions (like half of Social Security benefits, or foreign earned income exclusion). MAGI is used to determine eligibility for specific tax benefits (for example, IRA contribution deductions or education credits) and can differ depending on the particular tax provision.

• Standard Deduction: A flat amount of income automatically deducted from your taxable income if you do not itemize deductions. The standard deduction amount is much higher for a joint return than for a separate (or single) return. (For 2024, it’s $29,200 for married filing jointly vs. $14,600 for married filing separately.)

• Tax Credits: Dollar-for-dollar reductions in your tax for certain expenses or situations (e.g. the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, education credits). Some credits are refundable (they can net you a refund even if you owe no tax). Importantly, many credits cannot be claimed if you use the MFS filing status.

• Marriage Penalty / Bonus: The difference in total tax a couple pays when married vs. what they would pay as two single individuals. A marriage penalty means the couple pays more tax together than they would apart (often occurs when spouses have similar high incomes). A marriage bonus means they pay less tax as a married couple than they would separately (often occurs when one spouse earns much more than the other, allowing the use of lower tax brackets).

• Community Property States: States with laws that treat most income earned by either spouse during marriage as jointly owned 50/50. (Examples: Arizona, California, Texas, and others.) In these states, if a couple files separately, they generally must split income and deductions equally between their two returns. Community property rules can complicate separate filing because each spouse’s tax return must report half of the total marital income, regardless of who earned it.

• Head of Household (HOH): A special filing status for unmarried individuals (or some separated individuals) who pay more than half the cost of maintaining a home for a qualifying dependent. HOH status has lower tax rates than filing single. Married people typically cannot claim HOH unless they are considered unmarried by the IRS (e.g. lived apart from their spouse for the last 6 months of the year and have a dependent child in the home).

Pros and Cons of Filing Jointly vs Separately

Joint vs Separate: Side-by-Side Comparison

Real-Life Examples and Scenarios

Sometimes it helps to see the numbers. Here are three scenarios illustrating when couples might file jointly or separately and the outcomes:

Scenario 1: Big Medical Bills and the Separate Filing Trick

Situation: Imagine a couple, Alice and Bob, both with moderate incomes. Each earned about $50,000 in wages in 2024 (so $100,000 combined). Bob also had very high medical expenses of $10,000 out-of-pocket that year. Medical costs can be deducted on Schedule A if they exceed 7.5% of your income. The question is: should Alice and Bob file jointly or separately to maximize that medical deduction?

Filing Jointly: Their adjusted gross income would be $100,000. The 7.5% threshold for medical deductions would be $7,500 (7.5% of $100k). Bob’s $10,000 of medical bills would exceed that threshold by $2,500. That $2,500 could potentially be deducted if they itemize.

However, Alice and Bob might not itemize at all on a joint return if their total deductions don’t exceed the $27,700 standard deduction for MFJ in 2024. In this case, the $2,500 medical deduction is far less than the standard deduction — so they’d just take the standard deduction and Bob’s medical expenses wouldn’t actually provide any tax benefit on the joint return.

Filing Separately: Bob’s individual income is $50,000, so his 7.5% threshold for medical deductions is much lower: $3,750. With $10,000 in medical expenses, Bob could deduct $6,250 of those costs on his separate return (the amount over $3,750). Alice, on the other hand, had no big medical bills. If Bob itemizes his deductions to claim that $6,250, Alice also has to itemize on her return (and cannot take the standard deduction). Let’s say Alice’s own itemizable deductions (state taxes, etc.) are around $5,000.

So on separate returns, Bob might deduct ~$6,250 and Alice ~$5,000. Combined, they deduct about $11,250 total. This is less than the $27,700 they would get standard on a joint return, but remember that on the joint return they weren’t using the full standard deduction either (they had only $2,500 of medical beyond it).

By filing separately in this scenario, Bob’s medical write-off significantly lowers his taxable income, and the couple’s combined tax might end up a bit lower than if they filed jointly.

Result: In this case, filing separately saved Alice and Bob roughly a few hundred dollars in taxes. By lowering Bob’s taxable income, separate filing took advantage of the medical deduction that would have been lost on a joint return.

However, this is a fairly uncommon scenario. The couple had to give up the bigger standard deduction and both had to itemize. Separate filing only paid off because Bob’s expenses were exceptionally high relative to his income. For most couples without such large deductible expenses, filing jointly would still result in less tax.

Scenario 2: Lower Student Loan Payments vs. Higher Tax Bill

Situation: Consider Carla and Dan, a married couple with a big student loan in the picture. Dan earns $80,000 a year at his job, and Carla earns $40,000 at hers. Carla also has substantial student loans and is on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan for her loans.

Under her IDR plan, the monthly student loan payment is calculated based on her income (and if she files taxes jointly, it’s based on the combined household income).

Carla and Dan want to know if filing taxes separately could reduce Carla’s student loan payments, and if so, whether the tax cost is worth it.

Filing Jointly: Their combined income is $120,000. The loan servicer would calculate Carla’s IDR payment using $120k as the household income. Let’s say with that income level, Carla’s monthly student loan payment comes out to around $300 per month.

Filing Separately: The loan payment is calculated using only Carla’s individual income ($40,000). With that lower income on her own return, Carla’s monthly student loan payment might drop to roughly $100 per month.

Now, nothing is free – by filing separately, Carla and Dan will likely pay a higher combined federal tax. Suppose that if they filed jointly, their federal tax would be about $12,000. Filing separately, because of higher rates and loss of certain credits, their combined tax might be, say, $13,500 (an extra $1,500 in tax).

Result: By filing separately, Carla and Dan pay about $1,500 more in taxes for the year, but they save $2,400 on Carla’s loan payments ($200 less per month, or $2,400 for the year). In net, they come out about $900 ahead by choosing the separate filing status in this scenario. Plus, lowering Carla’s payments might help if she’s seeking eventual loan forgiveness (since she’s paying less, and the remaining balance might be forgiven after a set period). This scenario is one of the more common real-life reasons a couple might file separately – the savings on student loan payments can outweigh the tax costs. Still, they had to give up tax benefits (for example, they would lose any possibility of an education credit or student loan interest deduction), so it’s a careful calculation each couple should run for their own numbers.

Scenario 3: High-Income Couple Facing the Marriage Penalty

Situation: Eva and Sam are a high-earning couple. Each of them has a lucrative career – both earned about $500,000 in taxable income last year. This puts them near the top of the tax bracket range. They’re concerned about the marriage penalty – the idea that together they might pay more tax than they would if they were single.

Let’s see the difference between filing jointly and separately for a $500k + $500k scenario:

Filing Jointly: Their combined taxable income of about $1,000,000 will be taxed using the married-filing-jointly tax brackets. For 2024, the top 37% tax bracket for joint filers begins at $693,750 of taxable income. That means a significant portion of Eva and Sam’s income (from $693,750 up to $1,000,000) is taxed at 37%, the highest rate.

Filing Separately: The same incomes taxed on two separate returns use the single (MFS) tax brackets. For single filers, the 37% bracket doesn’t start until $578,125 (in 2024). At $500k each, neither Eva nor Sam individually crosses into the 37% rate. Their top rate would be 35% – each spouse’s income tops out in the 35% bracket when taxed separately.

Result: In this high-income case, filing separately shaved off around $6,000 in taxes – a clear marriage penalty existed on the joint return because the joint brackets weren’t fully double for the very highest rate. Eva and Sam paid about 2% less tax by filing two separate returns. However, note that Eva and Sam’s situation is somewhat special: both are very high earners with similar incomes and no dependent credits. They also likely weren’t eligible for many tax credits regardless (their incomes are far above things like the Child Tax Credit or education credit limits). For most couples, the difference won’t be this dramatic. Under current tax law, the marriage penalty mostly hits upper-income couples, or those where both spouses have sizable incomes in roughly the same range. For many other couples, tax brackets and credits are structured so that filing jointly doesn’t incur a penalty and often yields a bonus.

IRS Data and Research

The vast majority of married couples file joint returns. IRS statistics from recent years show that around 95% of married couples opt for Married Filing Jointly. For example, in a recent tax year, about 55 million joint returns were filed, compared to only roughly 2 million separate returns. Married Filing Separately is clearly the road less traveled, used by only about 4–5% of couples each year.

Interestingly, the number of couples filing separately has grown somewhat in the past decade (even though it’s still a small minority). Tax analysts note a roughly 50% increase in the usage of MFS over ten years. Why the uptick? Likely due to specific factors:

• Student loan repayment strategies: As discussed, more couples are aware that separate returns can reduce payments on income-based student loans.

• State and local tax (SALT) deduction cap: Starting in 2018, the federal deduction for state and local taxes was capped at $10,000 per return. This led some high-income couples in high-tax states to file separately so they could each deduct up to $10,000 of property and state taxes (for a potential $20,000 combined deduction, versus $10,000 total on a joint return). This is a niche strategy, but it’s a reason some more couples experimented with MFS after 2018.

• Pandemic stimulus quirks: In 2020, a few couples filed separately to maximize stimulus check eligibility or other credits (for instance, if one spouse’s income made the joint AGI too high for a stimulus phase-out, separate filing might have allowed the other spouse to qualify).

Marriage Penalties and Bonuses: Research in tax policy consistently finds that marriage penalties tend to occur for higher-income dual-earner couples, while marriage bonuses are common for couples with disparate incomes. One Tax Policy Center analysis found that under the current tax system, roughly 40–50% of married couples where both spouses work might experience some marriage penalty, whereas about half get a marriage bonus or no significant change. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reduced marriage penalties for many by equalizing the tax brackets (for most brackets, the married threshold is double the single threshold, eliminating the penalty up to a point). However, the top bracket and certain deductions still create a penalty at higher levels, and some credits (like the Earned Income Credit) can produce a marriage penalty at lower incomes.

Historical perspective: Joint filing hasn’t always been around. It was introduced in 1948, after a 1930s court case allowed income-splitting for married couples in community property states, giving them a tax advantage. To equalize things, Congress allowed all couples to split income with joint returns, hence the modern MFJ status with its own tax brackets. Over the years, various laws have adjusted how marriage affects taxes. Today, the consensus of tax data is that for most typical households, filing jointly is beneficial or at least neutral, whereas only in specific cases does filing separately pay off.

Special Considerations for Different Situations

Every marriage is different. Here are some specific situations and how the joint vs. separate decision might play out:

W-2 Only Couples (Simple Cases)

If both spouses earn wages (W-2 income) and don’t have any unusual financial situations, a joint return is almost always the best choice. Filing jointly will give you the highest standard deduction and the benefit of the wider tax brackets. In a straightforward case (two salaries, maybe some mortgage interest and kids), separate filing would typically:

• Raise your overall tax rate (because each of you is taxed as a single individual at higher rates on half the income).

• Eliminate or reduce credits like the Earned Income Credit or child-related credits.

• Create extra hassle with two filings.

For example, if one spouse makes $70k and the other $50k, filing jointly combines that $120k under married tax brackets (which are favorable). Filing separately would tax $70k and $50k separately under higher single brackets, and they’d lose certain deductions/credits. The result is almost certainly a higher combined tax bill. Bottom line: If you have no special circumstances (no big deductions to isolate, no loan repayment tricks, etc.), stick to a joint return.

High-Income Dual Earners

When both spouses have high incomes (especially if roughly equal), there can be a concern about the marriage penalty. As we saw with Eva and Sam’s case, the penalty is real at the very top end. However, for many high-income couples, filing jointly still makes sense:

• The tax brackets for married filers up to the 35% bracket are exactly double those for singles under current law. So if, say, one spouse makes $220k and the other $180k, together $400k, they’re still in the 35% bracket as joint – the same top bracket they’d each be in separately. The “penalty” might only arise if their combined income pushes into the 37% tier, or if they lose some deduction due to combined income.

• If the couple has children or can benefit from any credits or deductions, those are generally only fully available on a joint return at that income level. Filing separately could disqualify them entirely from credits, whereas jointly they might still qualify (or at least use phase-outs that are higher for married couples).

That said, a few high-income couples do choose MFS for specific reasons. One example is using that SALT deduction strategy: imagine each spouse has very high property and state taxes — by filing separately they might write off $10k each instead of a single $10k cap. Another example is if one spouse has significant stock losses or another deduction that they want to keep separate to possibly preserve certain tax attributes. These are edge cases. In general, for affluent dual-earners, the slight marriage penalty (if any) is usually outweighed by the convenience and benefits of a joint return. It’s wise for such couples to calculate both ways if they’re curious, but they often find the difference is small or that separate filing actually costs more once credits are accounted for.

Self-Employed or Small Business Owners

For couples where one or both spouses are self-employed (running a business, freelance, etc.), taxes can get more complex – but joint vs. separate considerations follow similar logic:

• Combining incomes can be beneficial. If one spouse has a business loss or big deductions (say, a net loss from a business, or a large depreciation deduction), a joint return allows that loss to offset the other spouse’s income, potentially reducing the overall tax for the couple. On separate returns, the loss would only reduce the income of the spouse who incurred it – it can’t help with the other spouse’s tax.

• Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction: This 20% deduction for pass-through business income has income thresholds (around $364k for married couples in 2024, versus about $182k for single). Filing separately cuts that threshold in half, so it doesn’t offer a way around the limit – it’s basically the same outcome either way. If you’re over the threshold jointly, you’d likely be over it separately (unless one spouse has all the business income and the other has none, but then separate filing would lose other benefits).

• Liability and audit concerns: Some self-employed individuals worry that a business might trigger an audit or owe taxes, and they don’t want to drag the spouse into it. Filing separately can compartmentalize responsibility – the spouse with the business would be solely liable for any issues on their return. However, joint and several liability provisions and innocent spouse relief exist, so the benefits of joint filing often outweigh the risks.

• Estimated taxes and credits: A self-employed spouse paying quarterly estimated taxes might worry about mixing with the spouse’s withholding on a joint return. But that alone isn’t a reason to file separately – you can reconcile that on a joint return easily. Also note, if one spouse is self-employed and the other is W-2, filing jointly might allow the W-2 spouse’s withholding to cover both persons’ liability, which is convenient.

In summary, most self-employed couples file jointly. The tax code doesn’t provide extra savings for separate filing here, except in unusual cases. If anything, joint filing offers more flexibility to use losses and credits across the household. Separate filing would mainly be for non-tax reasons (e.g., keeping finances separate or perceived liability protection).

Couples with Children (Families)

If you have kids or dependents, the incentives to file jointly generally increase. Tax credits for families are far more accessible on a joint return. Key points:

• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): This credit (for low-to-moderate income workers) cannot be claimed at all if you’re married filing separately. Married couples must file jointly to get the EITC. So, if your income is in the range for EITC and you have kids, a joint return is a must to claim potentially thousands of dollars of credit.

• Child and Dependent Care Credit: This is a credit for a portion of childcare expenses while you work. This also is unavailable to MFS filers (unless you lived apart the entire last 6 months of the year, basically treating you as unmarried). So married couples who pay daycare or babysitter costs can only get this credit on a joint return.

• Child Tax Credit (CTC): Married couples filing jointly have up to a $400,000 income threshold before this credit phases out (for the regular $2,000 per child credit). If you file separately, each spouse only has a $200,000 threshold for their own return. Only one of you can claim the child (you can’t split one child’s credit between two returns), so effectively you’ve halved the threshold. For upper-middle income families, this could mean losing the credit when filing separately, whereas jointly they might keep it.

• Education credits: If you’re paying for a child’s college tuition, the American Opportunity Credit (worth up to $2,500) is available if you file jointly (and meet income requirements), but it’s completely disallowed if you file separately. Similarly, the Lifetime Learning Credit can’t be taken if MFS.

• Adoption Credit: Also not available for most MFS filers (unless you lived apart for the entire year).

The only scenario with children where married filing separately might come into play is if the parents are separated or not living together. In that case, one spouse might file as Head of Household (if they have the child primarily and meet the criteria), and the other might file as single or separate. But that’s really a situation where the marriage is not intact for the tax year. If you are married and living together with children, filing jointly maximizes your family-related tax benefits virtually every time.

State-Specific Nuances (Community Property and More)

Federal taxes are one thing, but what about state income taxes? The joint vs separate decision at the federal level can have ripple effects on your state return:

• Most states require the same filing status as federal. If you file a joint federal return, you generally must file a joint state return (and likewise for separate). There are a few exceptions or special forms (for example, some states allow a joint state return even if the spouses filed separate federal returns in certain non-resident cases, or vice versa), but those are uncommon. Plan on your state return mirroring your federal choice.

• Community property states add complexity for separate filers. In the 9 community property states (AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI), married couples share income by law. If you file separately in a community property state, you typically have to split all community income 50/50 on your federal returns. For example, if you earned $80k and your spouse earned $20k, each separate return might have to report $50k of income (half of the total $100k) under community property rules. This can wipe out the intended benefit of filing separately in many cases. (Imagine trying to lower an income-driven loan payment by filing separate – in a community property state, your “individual” income may still include half of your spouse’s income, so you don’t actually get to show a low income.) There are ways around this (like if a couple has a formal agreement to keep income separate, or if certain income isn’t community property), but it gets complicated.

• State tax rates and marriage penalties: States have their own tax brackets and credits. Some states have marriage penalties too, and some don’t. For instance, California’s income tax brackets for married couples are not simply double the single rates in all cases, so high-earning couples can face a marriage penalty on their CA state taxes. Other states, like New Jersey, also have notable marriage penalties at certain income levels for state tax. On the other hand, a state like Pennsylvania has a flat tax rate – no marriage penalty or bonus at all, everyone pays the same rate.

• Credits and deductions on state returns: Consider that any decision to file separately federally means two state returns as well. If your state has credits (like its own child credit or other benefits), check if those require joint filing. Also, if one spouse has most of the state withholding, splitting into two returns might cause how refunds/owed tax shake out differently for each.

• An example (SALT deduction strategy): We mentioned the strategy of doubling the SALT deduction by filing separately for federal taxes. That is directly related to state taxes because it concerns state tax paid. Couples in high-tax states like New York, California, New Jersey, etc., sometimes consider MFS so that each can deduct up to $10k of state/local taxes on Schedule A (federal itemized deduction). If done right, they could deduct $20k combined instead of $10k on a joint return. However, those couples need to also file separate state returns, and in doing so, they might lose state-level benefits. It’s a trade-off that only works for some, and the federal SALT benefit might not overcome other federal drawbacks of separate filing.

The key takeaway: Always factor in your state’s rules before deciding to file separately. In many cases, the state rules will follow the federal, so if it didn’t make sense federally, it won’t make sense at the state level either. And if it did seem to make sense federally, ensure that it doesn’t create a problem on the state side. Community property states in particular can turn a seemingly good separate-filing plan into a messy endeavor.

Conclusion: The Bottom Line

For most married couples, Married Filing Jointly is the optimal choice when tax time comes. It generally results in a lower combined tax bill and gives you access to the full range of credits and deductions. Joint filing simplifies the process (one return instead of two) and aligns with how the tax code is structured to treat married households as a single economic unit.

Married Filing Separately exists for those unusual situations where splitting up the tax returns can actually save money or manage a specific issue. If you think you might be one of those cases — perhaps due to a large deductible expense, student loan considerations, or legal/liability concerns — then run the numbers both ways. It’s perfectly legal to calculate your taxes jointly and separately to see which yields a better outcome, and you should do so if you suspect an exception applies.

The bottom line: In the absence of a clear special circumstance, a joint return is likely your best bet. But every rule has exceptions. By understanding the pros, cons, and consequences of each filing status (and maybe consulting a tax professional for guidance), you can make the choice that best fits your family’s finances. Whether it’s maximizing a refund or minimizing a liability, the goal is to pay only what you truly owe — and not a dollar more.

FAQs: Married Filing Jointly vs. Separately

Q: Can married couples choose each year whether to file jointly or separately?
A: Yes. You have the freedom to file jointly or separately every tax year. You’re not locked in – you can decide each year based on what’s best for your situation.

Q: My spouse had no income this year – should we still file jointly?
A: Yes. If one spouse has little or no income, filing a joint return is usually beneficial. The spouse with no income essentially brings extra deduction and lower tax brackets that can reduce the working spouse’s tax.

Q: We just got married – can we file as Single or Head of Household now?
A: No. If you’re legally married as of December 31, the IRS considers you married for that entire year. You generally cannot file as Single. Head of Household is not an option either unless you lived apart for more than 6 months and have a dependent – a scenario that doesn’t apply to most newlyweds living together.

Q: Will filing separately avoid the “marriage penalty” for us?
A: Yes – but only in very few cases. Separate filing can remove a marriage penalty at high incomes, but for most couples it results in a higher total tax.

Q: My spouse has significant debts (like back taxes or defaulted loans). Should we file separately to protect my refund?
A: Yes – if you’re concerned about your refund being taken. Filing separately keeps your finances separate, so your refund wouldn’t be seized for their debts.

Q: Can we each claim different children and file separately to get more credits?
A: No. Only one of you can claim each child per year – you can’t double up on dependent credits by filing separate returns. Generally, a joint return will maximize the total family credits.

Q: Do we have to use the same filing status on our state tax return as we do on our federal return?
A: Yes, in most cases. Nearly all states require married couples to use the same status on the state return as on the federal. If you file jointly for IRS purposes, you’ll file jointly for the state (with very few exceptions).

Q: Is Married Filing Separately basically the same as filing as a single person?
A: No. It may feel similar, since each spouse files their own return, but a married person filing separately faces special rules – it’s not the same as being truly single, and usually you’ll pay more tax than a single filer with the same income.