Can I claim my wife as a dependent on my tax return or should we file jointly?

You can't claim your spouse as a dependent. The IRS is very clear about this - spouses are never considered dependents, regardless of their income. For married couples, you have two filing options: married filing jointly or married filing separately. Most couples benefit more from filing jointly, especially with the income levels you mentioned. Filing jointly often provides better tax brackets, higher standard deduction, and access to more credits and deductions than filing separately. With student loans in the picture, filing jointly might also be the better option since you can potentially claim the student loan interest deduction (up to $2,500) if your combined income doesn't exceed the limits.

Your friend gave you incorrect advice, unfortunately. I went through the same confusion last year and ended up using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to analyze my tax situation. They explained that spouses can NEVER be claimed as dependents - that's just not how the tax code works. For your situation with one spouse making $190k and the other making $47k with student loans, their analysis showed that married filing jointly would be significantly better. The software compared both options side-by-side and showed exactly how much we'd save by filing jointly.

I was skeptical about taxr.ai too, but I decided to try it after seeing the recommendation here. Honestly, it was eye-opening. I uploaded our documents and it immediately flagged that I was planning to file the wrong way. For us, it showed that filing jointly would save us almost $3,200 compared to filing separately because of how our student loan interest and income levels interacted. The analysis explained that with our income levels, we were in a sweet spot for the student loan interest deduction that would be completely lost if we filed separately. Definitely glad I checked before filing the wrong way!

If you're struggling to get clear answers about your tax situation, you might want to try calling the IRS directly. I know that sounds like a nightmare (it usually is), but I used a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a real IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that you absolutely cannot claim a spouse as a dependent - it's simply not allowed under tax law. They also ran the numbers and explained that with your income levels and student loans, filing jointly would probably save you around $2,800 compared to filing separately.

I need to apologize - I was the skeptic about Claimyr above. I was so frustrated after multiple failed attempts to reach the IRS that I assumed nothing could work. But I was desperate enough to try it, and I'm shocked to admit it actually worked. Got connected to an IRS rep in about 20 minutes. The agent I spoke with confirmed everything that's been said here - you cannot claim a spouse as a dependent under any circumstances. She also explained that with student loans in the picture, filing jointly is almost always better unless you're trying to keep your income separated for income-based repayment purposes. For our situation (similar to yours), filing jointly resulted in a much better outcome.

I just went through this exact situation! My brother (who is NOT a tax professional lol) told me I could claim my wife as a dependent. Thankfully I double-checked. Here's what I learned: 1. Spouses are NEVER dependents - that's firm IRS policy 2. With your income levels, filing jointly will almost certainly be better 3. Student loan interest deduction can be up to $2,500 when filing jointly 4. If you file separately, you LOSE the student loan interest deduction completely! That last point was huge for us and probably will be for you too.

Your friend was probably confusing dependents with tax exemptions, which used to be a thing before the 2018 tax law changes. Now dependents are very specifically defined and spouses never qualify.

Just to add another perspective here - I'm a tax preparer and see this confusion every year. Your buddy definitely meant well, but spouses can never be claimed as dependents, period. With your income situation ($190k vs $47k) and student loans, you're looking at a slam dunk case for married filing jointly. Here's why: 1. You'll get the full standard deduction for married filing jointly ($27,700 for 2023) 2. Your wife's income will be taxed at your marginal rates, but since there's a big gap between your incomes, this actually works in your favor 3. Most importantly - you keep that student loan interest deduction (up to $2,500) which disappears completely if you file separately 4. You'll likely qualify for other credits and deductions that get phased out or eliminated with separate filing The only time I ever recommend married filing separately is when one spouse has significant medical expenses or miscellaneous deductions, or when there are income-driven student loan repayment issues. With your numbers, filing jointly should save you several thousand dollars.