you will have to work it out both ways.. HOWEVER, 96% of married couples file joint - because the tax rules favor it. The larger the difference between your income and your spouse's income, the more it makes sense to file joint.
as the simple example, say He makes $30,000 and She doesn't work
married joint get a standard deduction of $24,800 while married separate gets $12,400.
a) If filing joint, taxable income is $30,000 - $24,800 or $5,200
b) if filing separate, taxable income for HIM is $30,000 - 12, 400 or $17,600. taxable income for HER is zero.
the tax on situation b) is going to be higher than situation a). So why file separate?
