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Can I claim myself or my spouse as a dependent?

SOLVEDby TurboTax3846Updated December 09, 2023

No. Personal and dependent exemptions have been suspended in tax years 2018 through 2025 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that Congress signed into law on December 22, 2017.

But even prior to the TCJA, you couldn't claim yourself or your jointly-filing spouse as a dependent, even if you supported yourself or your spouse 100%. This is because the IRS already gave you a personal exemption, plus another exemption for your jointly-filing spouse. Claiming yourself—or yourselves—again as dependents would’ve been double-dipping.

(There was a special circumstance prior to tax year 2018 where you could claim your spouse’s exemption if you filed a separate return, but this is no longer available for tax years 2018–2025.)

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