what is married filing separately 
married filing separately is a tax status for married couples who choose to record their respective incomes exemptions and deductions on separate tax returns this means both married spouses file separate tax returns when one spouse has significant medical expenses or miscellaneous itemized deductions or when both spouses have about the same amount of income it might be wiser to file separately the alternative to married filing separately is married filing jointly it usually makes sense financially for married couples to file jointly 