What is the penalty for filing single if your legally married?

There is no penalty, but the total taxes paid by the two of you may be more than if you filed together.





But it may be worth it if you are married to someone in their own business and you don't know what goes on there. If your spouse hides income from the IRS, you won't be on the hook for it if you did not file a joint return.What is the penalty for filing single if your legally married?
If you're married, you may want to file separately if filing a joint tax return would bump you up to a higher tax bracket and cause you to pay more taxes. For example, if both the husband and wife make $50,000 a year they will pay less in taxes if they file separately. This is because the percentage paid in tax for a person making $50,000 is less than half of what a person making $100,000 will pay because taxes increase as your income increases.





When each partner makes about the same amount of money, usually they are better off filing separately. When one partner makes significantly more than the other, filing jointly is better.





I know this is kind of complicated, and it's difficult to explain. See the attached link for a better explanation.What is the penalty for filing single if your legally married?
Why would you want to??? You pay higher taxes if you file single than if you file married.
There's no penalty, but the additional tax would be brutal.
If they catch you, they get to go back as many as 7 years and audit you.