The following examples are simple and based on earned income versus any other type such as interest, dividends, or other investment income.
If you itemize deductions then she is forced to do the same which means if she has no deductions her deduction is zero, in other words she is not allowed to take the standard deduction. This is specifically a rule for MFS filing status.
- If we use the income you provided for her of $11,000 and assume you will itemize here tax liability will be $1,126. This is a straight tax table rate without knowing what type of income she has or if she has any tax paid in through withholding or estimated tax.
- If you both use standard deduction ($12,400 for MFS) her tax would be zero.
- If you file jointly, just using the standard deduction since itemized deductions are unknown the tax varies as shown below.
- Just your income MFS: $8,468
- Both Incomes MFJ: $6362
- $1,126 + $8,468 = $9,594 (combined separate tax) - $6,362 = $3,232 overall tax savings if using MFJ
As you can see, there is a vast difference in filing separately vs jointly. Married filing separately does have other penalties than what is mentioned here. The best for her may be filing jointly and giving her any difference saved by filing jointly since that is your utmost concern.
- To see the advantages and disadvantages of MFJ and MFS, use the hyperlink.
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