Can You Claim Your Spouse as a Dependent?

Many married individuals wonder if they can claim a spouse as a dependent on their tax return. Under current tax law, a spouse cannot be claimed as a dependent. The federal tax system operates differently for married couples, focusing instead on filing statuses that consolidate income and deductions.

Defining a Dependent for Tax Purposes

For federal tax purposes, a dependent is either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. A spouse does not meet the criteria for either definition. A qualifying child must meet specific relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests. This includes being under age 19 (or 24 if a full-time student), younger than the taxpayer, living with the taxpayer for over half the year, and not providing more than half of their own support.

A qualifying relative must meet a relationship or household member test, a gross income test, and a support test. They cannot be another taxpayer’s qualifying child, must have a gross income under a certain threshold (e.g., $5,250 for 2025), and receive over half their financial support from the taxpayer. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 eliminated personal and dependent exemptions for tax years 2018 through 2025. While the exemption is set at $0 through 2025, the underlying rules for who could be a dependent remain pertinent for certain tax credits.

Spousal Filing Statuses

Since claiming a spouse as a dependent is not an option, married couples choose a tax filing status that consolidates their financial information. The two primary options are Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) and Married Filing Separately (MFS). This choice significantly impacts a couple’s tax liability and eligibility for various tax benefits.

Married Filing Jointly is typically the most common and often provides more tax advantages. When filing jointly, spouses combine their incomes, deductions, and credits on a single tax return. This status generally offers a higher standard deduction; for example, the 2025 standard deduction for MFJ is $31,500. Joint filers may also qualify for a broader range of tax credits and potentially benefit from lower overall tax rates.

Married Filing Separately means each spouse files their own tax return, reporting their individual income, deductions, and credits. This option generally results in fewer tax benefits. The standard deduction for MFS is half that of MFJ, set at $15,750 for 2025. Couples filing separately may also be ineligible for certain tax credits, such as education credits or the Earned Income Tax Credit, unless specific conditions are met. If one spouse itemizes deductions, the other spouse must also itemize, rather than taking the standard deduction, which can be disadvantageous if their individual itemized deductions are low.

Other Tax Considerations for Married Couples

Beyond the choice of filing status, married couples have other tax considerations that can affect their overall tax position. The combined standard deduction available to couples filing jointly can significantly reduce taxable income. This larger deduction often makes itemizing less advantageous for many couples, simplifying the tax preparation process.

Married couples may also be eligible for various tax credits that can lower their tax liability. The Child Tax Credit (CTC), for instance, provides up to $2,000 per qualifying child under age 17, with up to $1,700 of that being refundable for 2024. The income phase-out for the CTC is $400,000 for married couples filing jointly, which is higher than for other filing statuses.

Education credits, such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, are generally available to married couples filing jointly, but often not to those filing separately. These credits can help offset the costs of higher education. Additionally, married couples may benefit from spousal IRA contributions, allowing a working spouse to contribute to a non-working spouse’s Individual Retirement Account.