Married Filing Jointly Vs. Married Filing Separately: Pros and Cons
Married couples can choose to file their taxes jointly or separately. The married-filing-jointly (MFJ) filing status is the most common for couples, as it offers the most tax advantages. Couples tend to choose the married filing separately (MFS) status when they don't want to be liable for their spouse's taxes or in the rare situations where it's advantageous from a tax perspective.
This post looks at the pros and cons of these two filing statuses, and it also explains how you should file during a separation/divorce or after the death of a spouse. To get help with tax problems now, use TaxCure to find a licensed local tax professional.
Married Filing Jointly (MFJ)
With the MFJ status married couples report their income together on the same return. They are both liable for the tax due – even if the marriage ends or one spouse dies.
Advantages
The main advantage of filing jointly is that it almost always leads to a lower tax liability. If one spouse has a higher income than the other spouse, their income will be taxed at a lower rate than if they filed separately. Also, when you file jointly, you get access to all of the tax credits allowed for your income level and tax situation – many tax credits are disallowed under the MFS filing status unless you no longer live with your spouse and meet other requirements.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of filing jointly is that you are responsible for your spouse's tax liability. For instance, if your income is $0 and your spouse's is $100,000 and you file together, you will be liable for the tax due on their $100,000 in income. Another disadvantage is that once you select this filing status, you cannot amend to change it to filing separately – unless you make the changes before the return's due date.
Married Filing Separately (MFS)
With the MFS filing status, each spouse files their own return. They are each individually liable for their tax due unless they live in a community property state.
Advantages
The main advantage is that you are not liable for your spouse's taxes due – couples often choose this status if they're planning to get divorced or if one suspects the other of tax fraud.
Disadvantages
The separate liability is not available in community property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin). In these states, if you file separately, you must report all of your separate income and half of all community income on the return.
Additionally, you generally cannot claim the child and dependent care tax credit or education credits/deductions (American Opportunity Tax Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit, or the deduction for student loan interest). You can claim a limited amount of the child tax credit and the retirement savings credit, and you may only be able to claim the Earned Income Credit if you meet certain criteria.
Also, your spouse's return affects you – if they itemize, you also must itemize. And the filing threshold is only $5, meaning that if your spouse files, you must file unless you have no income.
MFS Vs MFJ 2025 Tax Brackets and Standard Deductions
The standard deduction is $30,000 for MFJ and $15,000 for MFS. That's the amount of income exempt from tax. The income tax brackets for MFS are half of the amounts of MFS.
| MFS vs. MFJ 2025 Tax Brackets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tax Rate | Married Filing Jointly | Married Filing Separately |
| 10% | Up to $23,850 | Up to $11,925 |
| 12% | $23,851 – $96,950 | $11,926 – $48,475 |
| 22% | $96,951 – $206,700 | $48,476 – $103,350 |
| 24% | $206,701 – $394,600 | $103,351 – $197,300 |
| 32% | $394,601 – $501,050 | $197,301 – $250,525 |
| 35% | $501,051 – $751,600 | $250,526 – $375,800 |
| 37% | Over $751,600 | Over $375,800 |
If both spouses earn the same amount of money, they will face the same income tax whether they file jointly or separately, but due to the restrictions on claiming certain tax credits when you file separately, they will almost always face a higher tax liability.
How MFJ Vs. MFS When Spouses Earn Different Incomes
However, if both spouses earn different amounts their income tax liability generally ends up being higher if they file separately. Here's a quick example. Let's say that Jade earns $20,000 and Taylor earns $100,000.
If they report their $120,000 on a joint return, the standard deduction reduces their taxable income to $90,000. They incur 10% income tax on the first $23,850 and 12% tax on the remaining $66,150 – that brings their income tax bill to $10,323. Then, let's say they have one child who qualifies for the child tax credit of $2000, plus they earn an education credit worth $2500. Now, their final tax bill is $5823.
Here's what happens when they file separately. After accounting for the $15,000 standard deduction, only $5,000 of Jade's income is taxable, leading to an income tax liability of $500. After claiming the standard deduction, Taylor has $85,000 in taxable income. The first $11,925 is taxed at 10%, the next $36550 is taxed at 12%, and the remaining $36,525 is taxed at 22% – that brings Taylor's income tax liability to $13,614. Taylor claims a $1000 credit for their child, reducing that tax bill to $12,614, but they aren't eligible to claim the education credit.
The family's tax total tax bill is now $13,114. They owe more tax due to filing separately – but it makes sense in situations where Jade doesn't want to be liable for Taylor's tax bill (again – remember, the separate liability doesn't apply in community property states).
Exceptions to the Tax Credit Limitations for MFS
If you file separately, you can claim the full child tax credit, the dependent care credit, and education credits that are normally not available with this filing status if you meet one of the following criteria:
- Lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of the year, or
- Lived apart on the last day of the year, with a separate maintenance agreement.
When MFS Can File as Head of Household
Rather than filing as MFS, you can file as head of household if you meet these criteria:
- File a separate return from your spouse.
- Didn't live with your spouse for the last six months of the year.
- Paid more than half of the cost of keeping up your home.
- Provided the main home for more than half the year for a qualifying child.
If you're eligible, this filing status gives you a higher standard deduction, wider tax brackets, and access to more tax credits than the MFS status.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How does the IRS determine your marital status?
Use your marital status on the last day of the tax year to determine whether you should file as married or single. Here's a breakdown
- Married on the last day of the tax year – file as married even if you live apart.
- Legally separated on the last day of the tax year – file as single or head of household.
- Divorced on the last day of the tax year – file as single or head of household.
- When your spouse dies during the tax year – file as married to your late spouse, but if you marry someone else during the tax year, file as married with your new spouse.
What if I have a common-law marriage?
If you qualify for common law marriage under the rules of your state, you should generally file as married. To get guidance, reach out to a tax pro based in your state. Note that common law marriages must be dissolved by divorce – just like civil/ceremonial marriages.
How should you file if you're getting divorced?
If you are legally separated or divorced on the last day of the tax year, you should file as single or head of household. However, if you're still married and don't have a legal separation agreement, you must file as married – even if you have lived apart for months or even years.
However, as explained above, if you have lived apart for at least six months and have a qualifying child, you may be able to file as head of household.
How should you file if your spouse dies?
In the year of your spouse's death, you should file married jointly or separately. You will mark on the return that your spouse has died. However, if you get remarried the same year your spouse dies, you should file as married with your new spouse.
The next year (as long as you're still not remarried), you should file as single, but if you have a qualifying child, you can use the qualifying widower filing status. That gives you the same standard deduction and tax brackets as married filing jointly but most credits are calculated as if you are a single filer.
What if both spouses don't agree on which filing status to use?
If one spouse wants to file separately, the other spouse is obligated to file separately. You cannot force your spouse to file jointly – you must agree to the return.
In cases where one spouse was coerced or abused into signing a joint return against their will, they may qualify for innocent spouse relief.
What if my spouse didn't report income on our jointly filed return?
If you file jointly, you are responsible for your spouse's portion of the tax liability even if they lied about their income and an auditor adjusted the return to increase the tax liability.
However, if you didn't know about the income understatement and had no reason to know, the IRS may grant you innocent spouse relief.
Can we switch our filing status after submitting our tax return?
If you file separately, you can amend the return and file jointly, but if you want to get a refund, you only have three years to do so. If you file jointly, you can make changes before the return's due date, but you cannot amend to separately filed returns after the due date.
There is one exception – if your spouse dies during the year, the estate administrator has one year to refile a joint return as a separate return.
Are there any deductions or credits exclusive to Married Filing Separately?
No, there are no special tax credits or deductions for married filing separate filers. In fact, this filing status generally prohibits you from claiming certain credits.
Should you file separately if one spouse has a lot of medical debt?
This may reduce your tax liability in some situations, but there are a lot of factors to consider – to be on the safe side, you may want to run the numbers both ways.
If you itemize, you can deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of AGI. In years when the lower-income spouse has a lot of medical bills, this option may save money. However, you must also consider that if one spouse itemizes, the other spouse must also itemize – that can increase the income subject to tax if the other spouse's itemized deductions are lower than the standard deduction. You also need to remember that you will be banned from claiming certain credits.
Should you file separately to get lower student loan repayments?
Most income-based student loan repayment programs only take your income into account if you file separately. By extension, your repayments may be lower than they would be if you filed together. However, you also need to consider how the loss of tax credits affects your total budget for the year.
How does community property law affect filing status?
In community property states, you are liable for your spouse's taxes, even if you file separate returns. In these states, you must also complete the return differently than you do in other states.
Normally, on a separate return, you only report your income. However, in a community property state, you must report 100% of your separate income and half of all community income, and attach a schedule showing how you calculated these numbers.
Your filing status has a direct impact on your tax liability and whether or not you're liable for your spouse's taxes. In most cases, couples benefit from filing together, but if you want to avoid liability for your spouse's tax debts, you may need to file separately. To get help, use TaxCure to find a tax pro today.