-- How a married person decides to file his or her tax return can have a big impact on the refund.

In Friday's Pro$perity Tax Tips segment, NewsChannel5's Brad Harvey gives some last-minute tips.

Like most taxpayers, Virginia Cooper is getting her paperwork in order. She's hoping that this year, filing differently could get her a bigger refund. She and her husband are considering a designation called "married filing separately."

"Could you explain a little bit to me: Would I have an advantage if my husband and I (chose married filing separately) and I'm the only one working?" Cooper asked.

There are times when married filing separately is a good idea. For example, it's beneficial if there's a year when one of the spouses has high business expenses or medical expenses.

"Medical is a big tip-off," accountant Jim Jenkins said. "If a spouse has a serious illness or surgery or something like that, that's only partially or not covered by insurance. It can be huge on a tax return in one year."

Jenkins pointed out an example using a husband and wife, each making about $40,000 a year, where one has medical expenses of $8,000. The IRS said that a person can claim expenses only over 7.5 percent of his or her income. If the couple files together, they can claim only $2,000. But if they file separately, the one with the expense can claim $5,000, which adds up to a tax savings of $800.

"You're hitting that limitation against a smaller number, (and) it can actually work out to the advantage of the taxpayer," Jenkins said. "Having said that, it works out only in about one of every 200 cases."

It will not work out this year for Cooper, but other taxpayers should give it a look, because the savings can be substantial.

For more free tax advice and IRS forms, go to NewsNet5's Tax Tips Section.