What is the total deduction for a couple filing married filing separately, where one itemizes deductions and the other has none?

When a couple files their taxes as married filing separately, the total deduction is determined by the individual circumstances of each spouse. For the tax year 2020 and later, there are specific standard deduction amounts.

In the case of married filing separately, each spouse is entitled to their own standard deduction. For the tax year 2023, the standard deduction for married couples filing separately is $13,850 each. Therefore, if one spouse itemizes their deductions while the other takes the standard deduction, you would calculate it as follows:

1. The spouse who itemizes would report their total itemized deductions.

2. The spouse who takes the standard deduction adds their $13,850 deduction.

If only one spouse itemizes while the other takes the standard deduction, the couple's total deduction will be the sum of the itemized deductions for the one spouse and $13,850 for the other spouse.

In this question, if we assume that the couple is taking a combined deduction where one spouse itemizes and the other takes the standard deduction, the total deduction would indeed come out to $30,000 ($13,850 + $13,850 for the standard deduction and further assuming itemized deductions would not exceed that threshold).

Thus, the