what is the joint return test 
the joint return test is one of the irs tests that potential dependents must pass in order to be claimed as such by another taxpayer according to the irs you generally can t claim a married person as a dependent if filing a joint return the joint return test stipulates that no dependent can file a joint return with a spouse and still be claimed as a dependent on someone else s return such as that of a parent or guardian there is however an exception to this rule because claiming dependents is valuable the irs institutes several tests such as the joint return test to make sure that dependents aren t being double counted understanding the joint return testaccording to the joint return test a taxpayer filing a joint return can be claimed as a dependent under only one condition that person and their spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid a taxpayer may not count someone who is married and files their return with their spouse as a dependent even if that person makes no money during the tax year and lives in the taxpayer s house if their spouse made taxable income reported on their joint return the irs gives the following example you supported your 18 year old child who lived with you all year while your child s spouse was in the armed forces your child s spouse earned 35 000 for the year the couple files a joint return you can t claim your child as a dependent another example your 18 year old son and his 17 year old wife had 800 of wages from part time jobs and no other income they lived with you all year neither is required to file a tax return they don t have a child no taxes were taken out of your son s pay or his wife s pay however they file a joint return to claim an american opportunity credit of 124 and get a refund of that amount because claiming the american opportunity credit is their reason for filing the return they aren t filing it only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid the exception to the joint return test doesn t apply so you can t claim either of them as a dependent joint return test for claiming dependentsthe modern income tax was first introduced in 1913 and a deduction for dependents was added to the tax code four years later that congress has supported a deduction for dependents for so long is a reflection of its desire to support the option to have a large family while still maintaining the overall progressivity of the federal income tax regime the original income tax was quite progressive with only about the top 1 of incomes taxed but with that progressivity came a bias against large families which generally require more income to support congress has continued to support deductions for dependents ever since and made claiming dependents even more lucrative for some taxpayers with its 2018 tax reform legislation starting in 2018 taxpayers who can claim a dependent under the age of 17 will receive a tax credit of 2 000 per child up from 1 000 previously further congress raised the income level at which the credit phases out the credit now begins to phase out at 400 000 of income for married couples and 200 000 for singles compared with 2017 levels of 110 000 for married couples and 75 000 for singles this benefit is a particularly valuable part of the tax code for many filers because the child tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction of tax liability rather than a deduction which lowers taxable income 