If my income is exceedingly high (and will pay the max tax) and my spouse's is not, can I file separately and let my spouse itemize the mortgage interest, property tax, state tax, etc to reduce her taxes? In other words, is it allowable for one to take standard and the other to itemize or both has to file the same way?Can a married couple file separately and claim different deductions?
No, for MFS status, if one itemizes, both must itemize. Even if it causes one of the returns to have itemized deductions of zero.
Married Filing Jointly, as a general rule, yields the best tax results.
Also, if you live together in a community property state, (most) income and deduction items get split 50/50 between the two of you anyway.
Why do you want to shift deductions to the lower tax bracket? Is your income so high that your itemized deductions are completely phased out?Can a married couple file separately and claim different deductions?
No. The law has always been that both must itemize or both must take the standard deduction.
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