Can You File Individually If Married?

Married couples have the option to file jointly or separately on their federal income tax returns. The IRS strongly encourages most couples to file joint tax returns by extending several tax breaks to those who file together.

When should married couples file separately?

Filing separately also may be appropriate if one spouse suspects the other of tax evasion. In that case, the innocent spouse should file separately to avoid potential tax liability due to the behavior of the other spouse. This status can also be elected by one spouse if the other refuses to file a tax return at all.

Is it illegal to file separately if you are married?

In short, you can't. The only way to avoid it would be to file as single, but if you're married, you can't do that. And while there's no penalty for the married filing separately tax status, filing separately usually results in even higher taxes than filing jointly.