Can spouse be claimed as a dependant?

if he or she didn't bring in any income for the year?

Well I had this on my computer as I was looking up the rules for 2 nieces and a nephew that are living with me (parents absent) so I am copying and pasting what I found as far as defintion of a dependent. Sorry its a little long!!

The IRS definition of a dependent requires that all five of the following dependency tests be met:

Member of Household or Relationship Test. At least one of the following must be true:
The dependent lived with the taxpayer for the entire year as a member of the taxpayer's household, except for temporary absences. Temporary absences include attending school, taking vacations, business trips, military service, and hospital stays. (If the person is placed in a nursing home for an indefinite period of time to receive constant medical care, the absence is considered temporary.) The relationship between the taxpayer and the dependent must not violate local laws (e.g., zoning restrictions on the number of unrelated persons living together).
The dependent is related to the taxpayer in one of the following ways: child, parent, brother/sister, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother/stepsister, half brother/half sister, grandparent, grandchild, son-in-law/daughter-in-law, mother-in-law/father-in-law, brother-in-law/sister-in-law. Also, if related by blood, relatives can include uncle/aunt and niece/nephew. Cousins do NOT meet the relationship test. Relationships established by marriage are not ended by death or divorce. Relatives do not have to be members of the taxpayer's household for the entire year. (There are special rules for children born during the year, adopted children, and foster children.)

Citizen or Resident Test. The dependent must be, for some part of the year, a US citizen or resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. Foreign students who stay with you as part of an international education exchange program generally do not qualify as dependents.

Joint Return Test. The dependent must be unmarried, married but not filing a joint return, or married filing a joint return only to claim a refund of withheld tax (neither the dependent nor spouse may claim personal exemptions on the joint return).

Gross Income Test. The gross taxable income of the dependent (all taxable income including money, property and services, unemployment compensation and certain scholarships, but not welfare benefits and not nontaxable Social Security benefits) may not exceed the exemption amount. In 2004 the exemption amount was $3,100. This test does not apply if the dependent is a child of the taxpayer and either under age 19 at the end of the year, or a full-time student under age 24 at the end of the year.

Support Test. The taxpayer must have provided more than half of the dependent's total support for the entire year. (Starting in 2005, the 50% support test only applies to qualifying relatives. For qualifying children, it is sufficient that the child not have provided more than half his/her own support.) Support includes food, clothing, shelter, education, medical and dental care, recreation, and transportation; as well as welfare, food stamps, and housing provided by the state. You must compare the dollar value of the support provided by the taxpayer with the total support the dependent received from all sources. (Note: There are special rules for dependents who receive support from multiple sources and for children of divorced or separated parents.) The support test considers all income, not just taxable income.

You need to file married filing joint. Spouses aren't dependents like children, but are considered in the deductions. Wait for a few more weeks and then read the IRS instructions with your taxes. If you still have a question you can contact the IRS by phone or online at IRS.gov

A spouse is never a dependent. And since you're married, you are not allowed to file as head of household.

As a married person, if you file a joint return with your spouse, whether or not that person had any income for the year, you get an exemption for the spouse, which gives the same tax benefit as you get from having a dependent. Filing joint also gives you lower tax rates than other filing statuses.

A spouse is not a dependent; children and other relatives are. The spouse is used to file Married Filing Joint. The joint filing is the beneficial part of tax filing.

Dependent refers to children.

Not unless your spouse is hadicapped.-oops sorry, didnt read the no income part. But you still can't claim him as a dependent.

No, not a dependent. For the most part, only your children are considered dependents. From IRS site:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e2941

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 the 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. This is also true if your spouse is a nonresident alien.

Head of household. If you qualify for head of household filing status because you are considered unmarried, you can claim an exemption for your spouse if the conditions described in the preceding paragraph are satisfied.

Yes as you are marry to him

Yes, you can claim your spouse , if he/she has not worked the entire year. You need to claim the spouse in that case. But only for the year he/she did not work.

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