@mimsy wrote:
Thank you!!! You said this all clearly. I had totally forgotten about the standard deduction. Blinded by stress and worry. Thank you a million times again.
Also note that if you filed as "married filing separately," 85% of your SS benefit is automatically subject to tax. It would be covered by your standard deduction (unless your spouse itemizes), but your spouse would also be getting a smaller standard deduction and paying the higher MFS tax brackets.
It would not hurt to test it both ways (and don't forget state taxes). For a few years, my wife and I filed MFS because, even though we lost about $1000 on federal, we gained about $1500 on state. But the only way to know for you is to test your particular combination of circumstances. MFJ is almost always better overall.
