So you hit one of the only areas where Married Filing Separately ("MFS"), in my opinion, may actually be better. For visibility this is an article that I have shared: 4 Things to Know About Marriage and Student Loan Debt
So, when you file MFS, the standard deduction of $29,200 is split in half. So with $22K of income, your taxable income would be approximately $7,400, which would all be in the 10% tax bracket. Your wife's taxable income would be approximately $45,400. The 12% tax bracket goes up to $47,150 in 2024, so the tax on her income is approximately $5,216. That is a total tax of $5.956 ($740+$5,216).
When filing as MFJ the tax is $5,872 using the same numbers that you provided; therefore, you would pay more in taxes, $84 more.
You would then have to weigh how much the payment goes down, which would not have to be a lot to make up the $84.
Keep in mind that the numbers above are based upon Married Filing Separately in a non-Community property state. The community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Thank you for your question @Droth53
All the best,
Marc T.
TurboTax Live Tax Expert
27 Years of Experience Helping Clients
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