Hi, would like guidance on which is the better option - Married Filing Jointly vs Married Filing Separately. Thank you very much in advance. I have the PC TurboTax Premier Version.
Our situation:
No Kids
We did not go to college, do not have student loans
Wife did not work (only doordash $700 income)
I worked full-time, W-2 employer, $94k income
We rent apartment in NJ, do not own any rentals/farms/other property, own 1 vehicle
I did not have HSA/FSA, I did have $4000 Lasik treatment in 2021
Paid $3000 for green card process for wife (is any part reimbursable?)
I did minor stock trading, no crypto (less than 4000 gains)
TurboTax has a What-If Worksheet in the PC version where you can do a comparison.
You can probably better off filing together based on the information provided because your wife's income is less than her half of the married standard deduction ($25,100).
In general, you must use the same filing status in NJ as you do for Federal purposes. I agree that Joint is likely better for you.