Married filing jointly: the deductions to check and the documents for a joint return

Every joint return starts by comparing two numbers. The standard deduction is the flat amount you subtract when you do not itemize. For married couples filing jointly, it is $31,500 for 2025 and $32,200 for 2026 (IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts). Each spouse who is 65 or older or blind adds an extra amount on top (IRS Publication 501).

You itemize only when your Schedule A total beats that number. For a couple, the usual items are mortgage interest on Form 1098, property tax, state income tax and gifts to charity. For 2025, state and local taxes are capped at $40,000 on a joint return, and the cap shrinks above $500,000 of MAGI (Schedule A instructions). For 2026, the cap is $40,400, shrinking above $505,000, and it never drops below $10,000 (26 U.S.C. 164).

Several breaks close the door on separate filers. The senior deduction, the tips deduction and the overtime deduction all require married people to file jointly, for tax years 2025 through 2028 (IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts). The senior deduction is $6,000 per spouse aged 65 or older, so up to $12,000 for a couple, and it starts to shrink once joint MAGI tops $150,000 (IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts). The tips and overtime deductions phase out above $300,000 of joint MAGI (IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts). Tips paid by an employer in a specified service trade or business under section 199A do not qualify at all (IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts).

Older credits work the same way. You cannot claim the American opportunity credit on a separate return (IRS Publication 970). The credit for child and dependent care is also out in most cases when you file separately (IRS Publication 501). For a couple with kids in day care, that alone can tip the choice.

Each of these needs a document from the right spouse. From 2026, the overtime deduction rests on the amount in box 12, code TT, of the earner’s own Form W-2 (IRS FS-2026-13, overtime deduction FAQs). The senior deduction needs each qualifying spouse’s SSN on the return (IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts). Collect both spouses’ papers even when only one of you works.

Filing jointly often gives the lower combined tax, but not every time. You can pick the status that gives the two of you the lower total tax, unless you must file separately (IRS Publication 501). A preparer runs both versions when the facts point that way.

Separate returns are worth a look in a few cases. For example, one spouse may have large medical bills, or may want to keep apart from the other’s tax debts. Married filing separately is the status where each spouse reports only their own income and deductions. If one spouse itemizes on a separate return, the other must itemize too, because their standard deduction is zero (IRS Publication 501).

In community property states, separate returns follow state law on who owns the income. The IRS lists Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin (IRS Publication 555). There, each spouse usually reports half of the community income, so you need both spouses’ pay records either way.

To test both options, a preparer needs the same papers split by person. That means whose name is on each Form 1099, who paid each medical bill and whose account paid the property tax. Label each document with the spouse it belongs to before you send it, and the comparison takes minutes instead of a back-and-forth.

You count as married for the whole year if you are married on the last day of the year (IRS Publication 501). A wedding on December 31 lets you file a joint return for that whole tax year (IRS Publication 501). Keep the marriage certificate in the file, since it shows the date.

Names cause the most rejected returns in a wedding year. The IRS says the name and SSN on the return must match the Social Security card, or processing slows (IRS, name changes and SSNs). If one of you took a new name, update it with Social Security first, or file under the name Social Security still has. The marriage certificate guide explains which copy Social Security accepts.

Withholding often comes up short in the first joint year. Two jobs taxed at the married rate can each withhold as if they were the only income. Your last pay stubs and both Forms W-4 show what was withheld, so a preparer can fix the next year.

Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator with both pay stubs in hand, not one. Then each of you files a new Form W-4 with your own employer. The form has a step for households with two jobs, and it works best when one spouse fills it in for the pair.

A joint refund can be taken for one spouse’s old debt, such as past-due child support. In that case, the injured spouse is the spouse who did not owe the debt, and Form 8379 gets back their share of the refund (About Form 8379). Keep each spouse’s Forms W-2 and payment records apart, because the form splits income and withholding by spouse.

A spouse who is not a U.S. citizen needs a tax ID before a joint return can be filed. Without an SSN, that spouse applies for an ITIN on Form W-7. Keep a copy of their passport and any visa papers with the return.

• IRS, Working Families Tax Cuts: Standard deduction for joint filers is $31,500 (2025) and $32,200 (2026); the $6,000 senior, tips and overtime deductions apply 2025 through 2028 and need a joint return if married; senior phase-out above $75,000 ($150,000 joint); tips and overtime phase-out above $150,000 ($300,000 joint); employees of an employer in an SSTB are not eligible for the tips deduction.
• 26 U.S.C. 164: SALT applicable limitation amount: $40,000 for 2025 and $40,400 for 2026 (half for separate returns); reduced above $500,000 (2025) and $505,000 (2026) of MAGI, not below $10,000.
• IRS FS-2026-13, overtime deduction FAQs: For tax years after 2025, only qualified overtime reported in Form W-2 box 12 code TT can be deducted; married employees must file jointly.
• IRS Publication 501: Married on the last day of the year means married for the whole year; separate filers lose the dependent care credit in most cases; a separate filer’s standard deduction is zero if the spouse itemizes.
• Schedule A instructions: The SALT limit is $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately), reduced above $500,000 of MAGI.
• IRS Publication 970: The American opportunity credit cannot be claimed if the filing status is married filing separately.
• IRS Publication 555: The community property states and how separate filers split community income.
• About Form 8379: An injured spouse files Form 8379 to get back their share of a joint refund applied to the other spouse’s past-due obligation.
• IRS, name changes and SSNs: The name and SSN on the return should agree with the Social Security card to avoid delays.