How 'married filing separately' status could affect Trump tax breaks this season

Every year, married couples decide whether to file taxes jointly or separately. That choice could affect their 2025 taxes in new ways amid changes enacted in President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill." 

Generally, the tax code favors the "married filing jointly" status, which combines a couple's income, credits and deductions onto a single return. "Married filing separately" creates two returns with each spouse's allocation for earnings and tax breaks.

"We've seen a handful of cases where married filing separately makes sense," said financial planner Gregory Guenther, owner of Grantvest Financial Group in Matawan, N.J. "But it's usually a very specific, numbers-driven decision rather than a broad strategy."

During tax year 2023, more than 55.5 million couples opted for married filing jointly compared with about 4.1 million who filed separately, according to the latest IRS data.

Typically, joint filers pay less income tax due to wider tax brackets, which means couples can earn more before reaching the next tier. There's also a higher standard deduction, worth $31,500 for married couples filing jointly, compared with $15,750 for those filing separately for 2025.

Filing separately can bring "unintended consequences," according to Lawrence Pon, a certified financial planner with advisory firm Pon & Associates in Redwood City, California. 

For example, couples lose eligibility for Roth individual retirement account contributions or the deduction for traditional IRA deposits once modified adjusted gross income reaches $10,000.

Plus, you may not qualify for certain tax breaks, including Trump's new deductions for tip income, overtime earnings or seniors, which have been popular claims for many filers this season.

Filing separately can also block or reduce existing tax breaks, such as the student loan interest deduction, education credits, and the child and dependent care tax credit, among others.

While filing separately has downsides, the choice could pay off for certain taxpayers this season, depending on their situation, experts said.

Some high-earning couples in high-tax states could improve the value of their itemized deductions by filing separately, according to Guenther.

That could include the federal deduction limit for state and local taxes, known as SALT, which Trump's legislation boosted to $40,000, or $20,000 for separate filers, for 2025.

Another example is if one spouse qualifies for the medical expense deduction, another itemized tax break, which is only available when those costs exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income for the year.

However, when filing separately, both spouses either must itemize or use the standard deduction, which may not benefit both partners, experts say.

"It's rarely a slam dunk," Guenther said.

Of course, advisors need to run tax projections both ways — filing jointly and filing separately — to see which option offers the better result. That could be different from year to year.

Generally, "married filing separately is more of a tactical move for a specific year than a long-term strategy," Guenther said. 

"It only makes sense when the benefit is clear and measurable," he said.