My husband is on Social Security and it’s now disabled. Why can’t I claim him and be the head of household when filing taxes?

[ggiven12]

Why can’t I claim my husband as a dependent as I am the head of household now. He is on social security and now disabled?

[SharonD007]

No, your spouse is never claimed as your dependent.

The IRS gives married couples the option of filing jointly (MFJ) or separately (MFS) but, filing separate tax returns disqualify taxpayers from certain credits and deductions, which may result in paying more taxes.  The most common credits that MFS filing status is not eligible for in Earned Income Credit, American Opportunity Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit and Child and Dependent Care Credit.  Additionally, MFS cannot take the Student Loan Interest deduction and the IRS deduction is limited. 

Please see the TurboTax article Should You and Your Spouse File Jointly or Separately? For more information.

Before you make the decision to file MFJ or MFS, you can prepare your tax returns both ways.  You will need to do three separate tax returns, one for each of you using MFS status then filing MFJ.  TurboTax can do the calculation for you if you use the desktop version. 

Please review the article How to Compare MFS and MFJ?.

[VolvoGirl]

A spouse is NEVER a dependent.   You still file a Joint return even if one spouse has no income.   You will get the biggest Standard Deduction and qualify for the most credits.