@SerranoSin so since you are filing as married filing jointly ("MFJ"), single is not a filing status you can use. Head of Household is also probably not available either. Although you can be married and file as head of household you would need to be living apart for the last six months of the year.
So that leaves married filing separately ("MFS"). California is a community property state, which is not an easy task to complete. If you are so inclined look here: IRS Publication 555
So the only way to determine if MFS is better is to actually do multiple tax returns, which is a large investment of time on your part. If you have any disparity in income, it is highly unlikely that you would pay less in tax using MFS. This is due to the fact that when you are filing as MFS you use the Single tax tables, which are half of the MFJ tables.
Ultimately, if you want to run the numbers you can, but I have rarely seen MFS being better than MFJ. This does not even account for the fact that a number of credits are not allowed when using MFS.
All the best,
Marc T.
TurboTax Live Select Time Tax Expert
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