If my husband worked all year but did not contribute to living expenses, how can I file him on my return?

[TomD8]

The fact that he did not contribute to living expenses does not preclude you from filing a joint return.  If you were married as of December 31st of the tax year, your choices are to file as Married Filing Joint, or Married Filing Separately.  For most married couples, filing MFJ results in a lower overall tax bill.

[rjs]

It doesn't matter whether your husband contributed to living expenses or not. You and he can file as married filing jointly, and include all of his income and your income. It's not your tax return, it's a return for you and your husband jointly.

[xmasbaby0]

You and your spouse's issues/arrangements regarding paying for living expenses are irrelevant to how you file your tax return.

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...

[xmasbaby0]

Oh--and if you were trying to ask if you can claim your husband as a dependent because he did not contribute to living expenses, NO, you cannot ever claim a spouse as a dependent.