Tax Return Filing?

I assume that you mean "Married-Filing Separately".

The biggest reason to file separately is to keep the tax liability separate.

If a couple files a joint return and they owe $10,000, both people can be pursued by the IRS until the balance is paid even if the balance due was due to one of their incomes/actions.

If a couple files separately and H owes $10,000 and W has a small refund, only H can be pursued by the IRS to pay the balance.

Other couples just like to keep things separate. I know someone who has been married for 40 years yet he and his wife have never had a joint bank account or filed a joint tax return.

W-4 when both married taxpayers are working and filling out the W-4 Employees Withholding Allowance Certificate it is usually much better for each one to claim married but withhold at the single tax rate at that time and sign the W-4 and return to the employer ONLY for the FIT withholding amounts out of your gross wages for each pay period during the tax year. And this does not have any thing at all to do with your filing status on your 1040 FIT return during the tax filing season.

Doing the W-4 in this way will usually help to keep the MFJ taxpayers from owing taxes during the tax filing season for this purpose.

Hope that you find the above enclosed information useful. 06/25/2014

There are very few situations where Married Filing Separately is beneficial to do over Married Filing Jointly. In 90% of cases, it works out the same or possibly worse. If you file MFS, deductions are halved for each person, and some are disallowed completely. The benefits of it are narrow enough that its not worth explaining.

If you have a normal, uncomplicated return, MFJ is very likely your best option.

The W-4 single rate withholds more money than married.

If you both work or have non-employment income, the withholding on the W-4 may be inadequate to ensure that you have enough withheld to pay your taxes.

people who file married separately have their own reasons and most of which would be far too extensive to list here

it is possible that filing separately can benefit them but until tax returns are prepared both ways it is not easy to determine which way is better