Would I get a big tax break if my wife stops working?

Question

If I have 1 dependant, how much tax break do I get?

Answer 1

Do the math & see if it would offset losing the income.

Answer 2

There are no special tax breaks for a non-working spouse beyond the exemption that you already get. If she doesn't work, your tax liability would definitely go down but you should not let that be the determining factor.

Having your wife quit her job because your taxes would go down would be like tearing up a winning lottery ticket because you didn't want to pay the taxes.

Answer 3

No work= less income= less tax. Don't forget the less income part. Support the fair tax and you don't have to worry about the ridiculous income tax, everyone would pay according to what they spend and we could stop punishing those who want to work.
WWW.FAIRTAX.ORG

Answer 4

If your wife quit working, you'd have less income, so yes, you'd pay less taxes - you wouldn't be paying tax any more on that income since you wouldn't have it any more.

There's no way to put a number on it from your info.

Answer 5

You would not be claiming you wife as a dependant,

When you file Married filing jointly the standard deduction is
$10.300.00

You also claim the exemption amount of $3,300.00 for both you and your wife.

If you are married you can file jointly or separately

There is no way to tell if it would be financially beneficial to you to have your wife stop working

Answer 6

No. You might pay less tax, but your family income will drop by much more than your taxes will drop by.

Answer 7

after you do your 2006 taxes, do it again without your wife's income and see how you would make out. I doubt that you would make out better, i.e. if she makes $25,000 a year you would save about $3,500 in taxes, but you would lose her net pay of about $18,000 (making alot of assumptions here).

Answer 8

Well that just depends on your income.