For a non-resident alien spouse who met all the criteria for being an exemption on my 2017 MFS tax return, can that NRA spouse now be a dependent on my 2018 return?

[johnchan1623]

The general TT advice says spouses can never be dependents. But in a 2018 updated TT article on "Claiming a Non-Citizen Spouse," it says they likely can be claimed as dependent, assuming they're NRA, have no U.S. income and can't be a dependent on anyone else's return. Which is it?

[KarenJ]

You do not have that option for 2018.  The new tax laws  eliminated personal exemptions for tax years 2018 through 2025, but they might come back in tax year 2026 if Congress renews the Act. Meanwhile, you can still make use of this personal exemption loophole if you go back and amend your 2017 return.

https://www.thebalance.com/can-one-spouse-claim-another-spouse-as-a-dependent-3973983

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301920

[johnchan1623]

KarenJ, thanks for your response above. But you seem to be focusing on and linking to an article that talks about PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS, and not whether a NRA spouse can be declared as a DEPENDENT under certain circumstances. I know the EXEMPTION provisions were eliminated starting with the 2018 tax year. But it's not at all clear that that somehow ruled out the DEPENDENT status.

And, I can specifically point you to a TurboTax article updated for the 2018 tax year where it seems to say a NRA spouse CAN be declared as a dependent under the circumstances I listed in my original question.

Here's the link to that article:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/claiming-a-non-citizen-spouse-and-children-on-your-taxes...

And here's the pertinent portion regarding my question:

Treat your spouse as a nonresident alien for tax purposes. If you choose this option, you cannot file a joint tax return. You must file with a status of "married filing separately." If your spouse has no income from U.S. sources and cannot be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's tax return, your will likely be eligible to claim your spouse as a dependent on your return.

So, can you please reconcile your answer above with the information provided in the TT article for 2018 TY that I quoted above -- not about personal exemption, but about dependent status for an NRA spouse.