State and Local Tax Limitation for Married Filing Separate

[jmacpa]

Is it possible for one taxpayer to claim part of the other spouses state and local income taxes paid or withheld in order to reach the $5,000 max on a married filing separate return, specifically where the spouses file separately due to the State's marriage tax penalty? I haven't seen anything to specifically preclude this, but would like some input on whether this is a valid tax planning strategy.

[itonewbie]

Unless the couple is domiciled in a community property state, the withholdings are separate properties, so you can't arbitrarily allocate them between the two spouses.

[jmacpa]

Thank you for the quick response. Ohio is a marital property state which considers property and assets acquired in marriage as belonging to both. Marital property is considered Community Property. It seems to be a slight difference in wording but not substantially in meaning and intent. Is there something that I am missing?