Read the attached article Married Filing Separately: Marriage Tax Benefit or Penalty by Corbin Blackwell. Married couples who have one sick spouse may often have to choose between tax advantages (such as the Earned Income Credit) and the ability to deduct medical expenses (due to the 7.5% AGI limitation). Should chronically ill taxpayers who file separately to deduct a larger share of medical expenses be forced to forgo tax benefits such as the deduction for college tuition expenses or the Child Tax Credit?