Spouse left at beginning of 2017. Our child was born 10 weeks early and Spouse went on disability for 5 months maybe more. And I think she made less than $4050.00.

[mendo_chronic]

Should I claim my Spouse? What if she made over $4050.00 is there a penalty for claiming my Spouse? Is there away to find out what she made in 2016?

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

"Spouse left at beginning of 2017". I take that to mean you and your spouse are separated. You can not do anything with her without her permission.

The $4050 rule does not apply to spouses. But, that's academic. A spouse cannot be a dependent. 

If you two can agree to do so, you may file as Married Filing Jointly and that means you can effectively claim her.

Otherwise, you may not claim her as a dependent. 

Your only other choice for 2016, is to file as Married Filing separately. You may claim the kid either way, if he was born in 2016; regardless of who he currently lives with (you won't be able to claim him in 2017 without  her permission, if he lives with her now)