how do spousal benefits work

Hi @Jdotes !  Great question.  I assume you're referring to a social security spousal benefit, which can be as much as half of the worker's "primary insurance amount" depending on the spouse's age at the time of retirement.  There is great information on this on the Social Security Website, along with a calculator that you can input your actual situation.  Check it out here.  I hope it's helpful.  

Let me know how else I can help!

Hi There;

Spousal Benefits could be more than one thing. E.G. Spousal benefits from Employer. However, in the narrow world of taxes, Spousal benefits would primarily be a higher standard deduction which for a married couple in 2023 will be $27,700.  There is also the issue of spousal benefits from Social Security which depending on the amount and overall income could be taxable. A specific question will help us give a specific answer.