Married Filing Separately: How It Works, When to Do It

Virtually all married couples file their taxes jointly, and who can blame them? It’s usually easier to prepare one tax return than two, and it almost always results in a lower tax bill than filing separately.

But sometimes, using the married filing separately tax status to split up those returns might make sense financially.

What is married filing separately?

Married filing separately is one of five tax filing statuses available to taxpayers. Under this status, each spouse files their own tax return instead of one return jointly. Rather than combining income, each person separately reports income and deductions. You must be married to use this status.

How married filing separately works

Although most married couples file jointly, they can choose the married filing separately status if they want.

If you don't live with your spouse, you have a dependent who lives with you, and you pay for more than half the expenses of keeping your home, you may be able to use the head of household status instead of either married status. However, the rules here are complicated, so make sure you speak with a tax pro beforehand.

Married filing separately: Standard deduction

When filing their taxes, people can either take the standard deduction or itemize to lower their taxable income. Most people tend to take the standard deduction because it's easier to calculate and often exceeds the value of their itemized deductions. The standard deduction amount for those married filing separately is typically half the value of those married filing jointly.

• For 2024 returns filed in 2025, the standard deduction for those married filing separately is $14,600, whereas the standard deduction for joint returns is double: $29,200.

• For taxes filed in 2026, those married filing separately have a $15,000 standard deduction, compared with $30,000 for joint filers.

» MORE: Itemizing versus taking the standard deduction

Married filing separately rules

Both spouses must take deductions the same way: If one spouse itemizes instead of taking the standard deduction, for example, the other spouse must itemize, too. You’ll also have to decide which spouse gets each deduction, and that can get complicated.

You might get locked out of certain tax benefits: When using married filing separately, there are a bunch of deductions and credits you probably won’t be allowed to take, such as the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the earned income credit, the adoption credit, education credits and the deduction for student loan interest.

Understand how your tax bracket will change: Filing separately isn’t the same as filing single. Only single people can file as single, and their tax brackets are different in some cases from the ones that will apply to you if you're married and filing separately.

» Ready to crunch the numbers? Try NerdWallet's tax calculator

Advantages of filing separately vs. jointly

In the right circumstances, being married and filing separately could save you money. Here are a few things to think about if you’re considering whether it’s right for you.

Student loans

• If you’re enrolled in an income-based student loan repayment plan, filing separately could reduce your monthly bill. Some income-based repayment programs key off of adjusted gross income (AGI).

• If you choose the married filing separately status, your payments may be based only on the borrower’s income rather than on your joint income as a couple. That’s a big consideration that makes it worth the time to calculate your taxes both jointly and separately. It could be worth filing separately and paying an extra $500 in April, for example, if you’re going to save $200 per month in student loan payments.

• However, keep in mind that you won't be able to take several education tax credits such as the student loan interest deduction or lifetime learning credit if you use this filing status.

Medical expenses

• Generally, you can deduct unreimbursed medical expenses — but only the portion that exceeds 7.5% of your AGI. Filing separately could make more of those expenses deductible.

• Here’s an example. Let’s say you and your spouse are both 30, and one of you had up to $6,000 in unreimbursed medical bills last year. If you file jointly and your combined AGI is, say, $100,000, then only the portion of your medical bills over 7.5% of that — or the portion over $7,500 — is deductible. So in this scenario, you can’t deduct a penny of your $6,000 in medical bills because you filed jointly.

• Now let’s say you file separately. Your AGI is, say, $55,000 and your spouse’s AGI is $45,000. Now the math may work in your favor, because anything more than $4,125 (that’s 7.5% of your AGI) is deductible. If you were the one with the medical bills, filing separately just got you a $1,875 deduction. Alternatively, if the medical bills belong to your spouse, they could deduct anything over 7.5% of that $45,000 AGI, or $3,375. That would mean a $2,625 tax deduction when filing separately.

» Learn more about how to claim the medical expense deduction

Complicated spouses

• If your spouse brought overdue taxes into the relationship, it may be worth choosing the married filing separately status. That way, the IRS may not take your refund away and apply it to your spouse’s overdue bill.

• Remember, however, that filing separately usually results in a higher overall tax bill for both of you. So, if the goal is to keep your tax bills low, you can consider giving up the refund to get that liability out of your hair.

• If you’re getting a divorce or you suspect your spouse isn’t being upfront about tax matters, you should think about filing separately, too. After all, once you sign that joint return, you have joint liability. You may be able to get innocent spouse relief from the IRS if things explode, but convincing the IRS that you’re innocent isn’t easy.

The bottom line

Filing a joint tax return usually results in a lower tax bill, but sometimes the married filing separately tax filing status makes sense.