Wife is at 6300... I am at retired at 40,000. Can one of us take all of the deductions on a Schedule A and the other take the standard deduction? All of the dividends interest capital gains are in both names, my share of state tax, and all of the property tax is in both names.

Thank you... richard

What you are asking is whether you can file seperately, and "skew" the deductions toward one person while the other takes a standard deduction. The answer is no - if you file as Maried Filing Separately you must either both take the standard deduction or both itemize using Schedule A. If you decide to itemize deductions you must apply some rational as to who claims which deductions - see IRS Pub 504 "Married Filing Separately" for more info: Publication 504 (2013), Divorced or Separated Individuals (http://www.irs.gov/publications/p504/ar02.html#en_US_2013_publink1000175839)

Thank you