Married filing separately

[Loudspeaker1999]

My wife and I are considering filling separately in order to minimize her student loan payment under the PAYE plan. As she will have no income this year she won’t require any deductions. I know if I itemize deductions she must also... is there any issue with me deducting 100% of the deductions?

[DoninGA]

There will be no issue if you file as Married Filing Separately and itemize all of your deductions.  Since your spouse has no income she would not be filing a tax return.

The standard deduction for filing separately in 2019 is $12,200 so your Total itemized deductions must be greater than $12,200 to have any affect on your tax return.