@lyc417170 96% of married couples file Joint. It is highly unlikely that it would be financially beneficial to file Separate.
to me that last 4% either doesn't trust each other enough to sign the same tax return or are just naive to the ramifications.
Critically, you two must both itemize or both take the standard deduction.
the further apart your two incomes are from each other, the worse the tax bite will be. Further, if either of you are on social security (and assuming you live together), automatically, 85% of the social security income is taxable. these are just a few of the ramifications of filing Separate.
what is driving you to this decision?
You might want to test which way you are better off financially using this website. Run your income through this web site three times a) Joint b) you file Separate, c) Spouse files Separate. then compare a) to the sum of b) and c)
https://www.dinkytown.net/taxes.html
