A couple of things to add: Married Filing Separate DOES create an advantage for many states. States like Ohio have a large marriage tax penalty, and as long as both spouses are working, there is almost always an advantage to file married filing separately. You have to look at both to determine if there is a net benefit - it might cost an extra $200 to file separately at the federal level, while increasing the state tax return by $800, for a net $600 advantage to filing separately.
In addition, once you have filed jointly, you cannot amend your taxes and file separately. You can, however, amend your married filing separately returns to a married filing jointly return.
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