<prompt> Human: Hey PF my wife and I bought our first house in 2014. Before buying the house we carried very little debt jointly 16k total for our cars but she has about 20k in student loans whereas mine have already been paid off. Additionally, she doesnt bring in an income because she stays home with our children. For these reasons, the mortgage is solely in my name. We have always filed jointly in the past so I was planning on doing it again for 2014. Heres my questions:1. If we file jointly, is there any issue with claiming the interest deduction if the mortgage is only in my name?2. Given our scenario, is there any reason we shouldnt file jointly? Thanks guys!  <response>: 1. Nope. An expense incurred by 1 member when filing jointly is incurred by both.2. Probably not. Its extremely rare that its beneficial to not file jointly, and if she has no income its very unlikely any potential benefit would outweigh the penalties for doing so. 