Solved

If my wife didn’t work in 2018, how do I ensure she’s tax exempt since I can’t claim her as a dependent?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 1, 2019
1 reply
0 views

No text available

TurboTax Deluxe Online

Best answer by xmasbaby0

You file a joint return. A spouse is never a dependent.

If you were legally married at the end of 2018 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $24,000 (+$1300 for each spouse 65 or older) You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit.

X

xmasbaby0Answer

Employee

You file a joint return. A spouse is never a dependent.

If you were legally married at the end of 2018 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $24,000 (+$1300 for each spouse 65 or older) You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Q

quasars112Author

The $24,000 standard deduction you referenced above if we file jointly, is that an automatic standard deduction, or is there a CAP where it may not apply? We’re filing jointly based on the earlier advice, but I don’t see that standard deduction applied for us in TurboTax. It shouldn’t matter if our W4 indicates that we’re married at the beginning of the year, right?