Should I let my husband claim be who works? Or file myself with no income?

[cpadgett731]

My husband I married in May of 2019, and he is working full time to support us. I am a full time student and I have student loans and no income. Should I let him claim me as a dependent or should I file independent? I do not know if they give more money when I am a full time student with no income or if I am a dependent. 

[VolvoGirl]

He can not claim you as a dependent.  A spouse is never a dependent.  You either file a Joint return for both of you combined or each file as MFS Married filing Separate.  

Joint is usually the best way to file.  Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction.   And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out.  

[xmasbaby0]

If you have student loans that you are paying interest on, or if you are paying for your education, the only way you get any education credits is if you file married filing jointly.  If you file married filing separately you cannot deduct student loan interest or get education credits at all.

If you are  legally married at the end of 2019 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $24,400 (+$1300 for each spouse 65 or older)  You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit.

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return. Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected.

If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

Best Wishes!

[Hal_Al]

Simple answer: you should file as Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) with your spouse.  It is how you allow your husband to claim you and your education credit.  As others have said, technically a spouse cannot be a dependent.

There is nothing you can claim by filing separately (independently).