When you are filing separately, you must still cooperate and share tax information. If you both have children, you must coordinate who gets to claim the children as dependents. Finally, spouses filing separately must both take the standard deduction or must both itemize their deductions. People who choose to file as Married Filing Separately do not qualify for several tax benefits and tax credits. While filing jointly can in some cases result in lower federal tax, filing separately creates separate tax liabilities for each spouse, which can be useful in minimizing tax risks.