If my wife paid next to nothing in federal tax withheld should we file separate?

[jamespollard92]

She works part time and often did not make enough on her paychecks to warrant having federal taxes taken out, should we file separately? When I file jointly it's lowering the overall return.

[DawnC0 · Accepted solution]

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you receive the married filing jointly standard deduction, currently $24,400.    You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit. 

You may want to take the time to create two other 'dummy' accounts for you and your wife, both filing separately.  In the 'dummy' accounts, you can see the result of filing separately and compare those results to your jointly filed return.  It does not cost anything; just make sure you write down your different login information as it can get confusing using multiple login IDs.  

MFJ vs. MFS 

When Will MFJ Save You Taxes