@Biker2chef
1) we can't see how you did your 'what if' analysis, but probably something was done incorrectly. A married couple is typically going to pay less in tax than two indiviudals filing as single individuals. The larger the difference in their incomes, the larger the tax difference should be.
if you want to post the particulars of each income, I can figure out what the issue is.
2) as noted by others, since you are legally married, your only filing options are a) Married- filing Joint and b) Married - Filing Separate. 96% of married couples file joint because the laws motivate that behavior. Congress passes tax laws that protect the sanctity of marriage, i.e. they don't pass laws that incent people not to marry or not to file Joint.
