Going to the chapel and we're filing jointly...

We're talking about the tax implications of marriage.

In general it is best to file jointly, but we've heard over the years that there can be benefits to filing separately. So that's what we're trying to get to the bottom of. One might think that if you have some funky deductions you can come out ahead. The standard deduction is $6350, which filing jointly gives you $12,700 of deductions. However if one of you has more than the standard deduction, you could file separately and have more in total deductions, putting you slightly ahead. That would be cool however, that's just not how it works. In order to encourage filing jointly, if one spouse itemizes the has to as well and cannot take the standard deduction.


There are a few cases where you may have a benefit, but they are few and far between. If you have a large medical bill, there's apparently some benefit to filing separately, although we really couldn't fathom it. Also, if before getting married, one spouse runs up a sizable tax debt, it's possible that filing separately will keep the other spouse off the hook. And maybe there's some benefit to filing separately when one spouse has a business that the other spouse doesn't want to be attached to.

The one and the two of it is that if there's nothing really screwy about your finances (deductions especially), you probably will come out ahead if you file jointly. As always, it doesn't hurt to run the numbers in both scenarios. These people seem to know what they're talking about. These people, too. If you're going to file separately, don't do it by yourself.

Profit!