It depends. Generally speaking, Married Filing Jointly results in greater benefits for Married taxpayers. This is true even when there may be complications with state tax filing (which I'll address momentarily). But it may well be especially true in your circumstance because Texas is a community property state. When either spouse lives in a community property state, income and belongings cannot simply be divided into "his and hers", so to speak, but generally must be split equally. Generally speaking, this can make a Married Filing Separate return even more complicated. Here is an FAQ that addresses this: https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301943
It is possible that there could be a state benefit for filing separate. If your NC husband has greater income than you, the community property law would lower his income (and thus his taxable income) in North Carolina. Since Texas has no state tax, this could result in lower state taxes. But the cost on the Federal side could make this impractical. This FAQ provides additional information on joint vs. separate returns: https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3288477
Having said this, you are not required to file a joint return. You may just find it advantageous to do so.
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