Doing This to Get a Bigger Stimulus Check Is a Bad Move -- Usually

Tens of millions of people are out of work, and millions more are doing their best to scrape by as the coronavirus pandemic's economic storm continues to rage. To help them, the federal government is in the process of sending stimulus checks to an estimated 150 million taxpayers nationwide. Most Americans will get a stimulus check, but there are exceptions. Most of those who don't get stimulus payments will get denied because of their incomes.

For married couples who'd otherwise be out of luck because of their combined income level, there's an option that could potentially give you a stimulus check. However, the strategy comes with a catch -- and that could easily cost you more in taxes than the amount of the stimulus payment. Below, we'll look more closely at why some married taxpayers are looking at filing separately -- and why it often doesn't make sense.

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