Can i claim my wife as a dependent? she does not work, we are happily married under the same roof, and she has no income so i support her entirely.

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

When you are legally married and living together you can only file as Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.  You cannot claim a spouse as a dependent.  You would want to file as MFJ as this will give you the best tax outcome in most cases even if one spouse has little or no income.  You receive the highest standard deduction of $12,200 and you both receive a personal exemption of $3,900 (basically claiming yourself and your spouse)

[joyee-gao]

the answer is yes, if he wants to claim his wife as dependent if they married filed separately and she had no income nor was claimed by others

[macuser_22]

@joyee.gao  - A spouse can *never* be claimed as a dependent.  You must be thinking of the law that allows a person filing separately to claim an *exemption* for the spouse, which is different than claiming a spouse as a dependent.

Quote form IRS Pub 17

"Your Spouse's Exemption
Your spouse is never considered your dependent.
Joint return.   On a joint return you can claim one exemption for yourself and one for your spouse.

Separate return.   If you file a separate return, you can claim an exemption for your spouse only if your spouse:
   - Had no gross income,
   - Is not filing a return, and
   - Was not the dependent of another taxpayer.

This is true even if the other taxpayer does not actually claim your spouse as a dependent.
   -You can claim an exemption for your spouse even if he or she is a nonresident alien. In that case, your spouse:
   - Must have no gross income for U.S. tax purposes,
   - Must not be filing a return, and
   - Must not be the dependent of another taxpayer."

[joyee-gao]

Like you saide here" Separate return.   If you file a separate return, you can claim an exemption for your spouse only if your spouse:
   - Had no gross income,
   - Is not filing a return, and
   - Was not the dependent of another taxpayer."
I mistaken the exemption for dependent. Thanks for correction!

[macuser_22]

Just wanted to be accurate - with that I an closing this year old post.