Thanks VolvoGirl! We're in an interesting situation this year. We live in the state of Alaska and have no state tax and my job with the state does not accrue Social Security as they have opted out of the system for a Supplemental Annuity. I'm the primary income earner in the family, as the only income my wife gets is from the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. In 2016, my wife cashed out a retirement account as she has no plans to return to the state to work, and it is causing a one year jump in income that we won't see in future years. More specifically, her additional income pushes us over the $109K threshold for the Child Tax Credit and it appears other deductions have a lesser effect than they have in previous years. We don't tale the EITC, CCC, and EDC because they don't apply to us or my sole income is too high to claim them. Sooooooo - in this particular year I'm certainly wondering if there is any advantage to filing separately.
