Most taxpayers are well aware of the deduction that comes from claiming dependent children on their taxes. But what are the rules on claiming dependents on taxes? And what about other relatives? And, when can those formerly claimed as dependents on someone else’s return begin to claim themselves?
If someone else can claim you as a dependent, you cannot receive a personal exemption for yourself, and your standard deduction is limited. If you are filing using TurboTax, the program will help you determine the limitations.
You can claim someone as a dependent if they are a United States citizen, do not file a joint return, and meet either the qualifying child test or qualifying relative test, both discussed in IRS Publication 501 and explained below.
Qualifying Child
The most common reason to claim someone as a dependent on your taxes is because they are a qualifying child. To be a qualifying child, the dependent must meet all six of the following tests:
- Relationship: the dependent must be your child (including foster, step, or adopted child), your sibling (including half or step), or any of their descendants (e.g., your grandchild, niece, or nephew)
- Age: the dependent must be under 19 and younger than you (younger than either you OR your spouse if filing jointly), under 24 and a full-time student for at least part of 5 months of the calendar year, or permanently and totally disabled regardless of age.
- Residency: the dependent must live with you for at least half the calendar year.
- Support: the child cannot have provided more than half of his or her own support (i.e., necessary living expenses) for the year
- Joint Return: the child cannot have filed a joint return with a spouse, except if the return was only filed to claim a refund
- Special Test: if the parents are divorced, only one can claim the child as a qualifying child. If both would be otherwise eligible, this is usually the parent with the highest gross income, unless the parents have agreed otherwise.
Qualifying Relative
If your potential dependent does not qualify as a qualifying child, he may instead be classified as a qualifying relative, and still be claimed as a dependent. To be a qualifying relative, the dependent must meet all of the following tests. Note that there is no age test for a qualifying relative.
- Not a qualifying child: A dependent cannot be deemed your qualifying relative if he is a qualifying child for you or any other taxpayer.
- Relationship: the dependent must live with your OR, if he does not live with you, be your child (including foster, adopted, step, or in-law), your sibling (including half, step, or in-law), your parent or grandparent (including step or in-law but NOT including foster), or a direct descendant of any of the preceding relatives.
- Gross income: the relative’s gross income must be less than $3,700
- Support: you must provide more than half of the support for this person during the year. If multiple parties combine to provide more than 50% (e.g., two adult children each provide 30% of a parent’s support), any one taxpayer who provides more than 10% can claim the relative with the written permission of the others.
With the tax deadline just over a week away, it’s important to understand the rules on claiming dependents on taxes and when claiming dependents is appropriate.
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I have a question. Hope you can help. I recently found out that my brother in law’s girlfriend claimed my two girls on her Income tax return with out my consent and i have called the cops and the IRS. Nobody seems to be doing anything about it. Any ideas what to do because My kids and i do not even talk to his girlfriend. I barely talk to my husband, so basically they have no contact at all with my kids so how can she claim them. I was looking towards fraud or something cause i never have them the kids the social security numbers. Also the girls have never lived with her or she has never provided at all for them. I don’t even talk to my brother in law. We never got along. What do i do?
You report tax violations directly to the IRS. The IRS does reward people that turn in tax dodgers. I think the reward is 10% of the amount recovered.
Did you support your children providing more than one-half of their support and lived with you more than one-half of the year? If so claim them on your tax return. If efile will not allow them because someone has already claimed them-file hard copy (a paper return) and be prepare to substantiate that you have supported them.
I have been with this man for 2 years. He gets a ssi check so he cannot claim taxes. I have provided for his 3 year old son for the past year. Can I claim him as my dependent?
Can I claim my mother as a dependent if she is not a us citizen and does not live in the us? She has never lived here but I do send her money every month.
no! has to be living with u for over 6 months and u completely support her and ba a us a citizen
You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a US citizen, US resident alien, US national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
You can claim your Mother as a dependent if you provide over one-half her support and she did not have gross income of more than $ 3,700.
Your Mother is considered “a Relative who does not have to live with you” to qualify for dependency exemption for a qualifying relative.
Is it $3,700 Gross a Year?
have a question. im having problems with my girlfriend over claiming my daughter as my depedant. she lives with her parents and i pay all of my daughters expenses now its tax time and she want her stepdad who isnt legally married to her mother to claim her on his tax return. can he do so with out my consent?
i have a question i just had a baby in febuary of 2011, i just started working agian i prolly wont make over 5 grand this year. my bf will make about 25 grand who should claim our daughter to get the best refund?
I have a question about claiming a dependant. My mom adopted my children, but she is on SSI and disablity. Am I able to claim the children and my mother?
My sister and her husband and their 3 kids lived with me from September 2010 to July 20th 2011. My sister did not work at all, her husband only worked 5 of the 7 1/2 months they lived with me. His gross income for 2011 was 36,000 and mine is 65,000.00
My sister has a child from another man (never married). My sisters husband has a child from another marriage in which child never see’s nor is child support paid. Then they have 1 child together.
I provided 80% of all costs even clothes and school supplies as well as all the bills and rent. They moved out on July 20th 2011 and i know they will try to claim their kids on their taxes, but i dont feel that is legally right since they did not provide 50% or more for their children for the 2011 tax year, since they only did it for 5 1/2 months. How can i legally claim them on taxes?
I think I am out of luck but I have a question…My fiancee and I live together and have 2 kids. I claimed them on my taxes like I always do because he owes arrears to his ex-wife and she gets his return. I went to file his taxes right after mine and found out that if he would have claimed the kids it would have paid off his arrears and gave us back more than we are getting with just my return. I feel sick. Is there anything I can do to tell the IRS I changed my mind and I would rather him claim the kids? Might be a stupid question, but I am hopeful!
The question is who paid more than one half of the children’s support. If your fiancee, who is their father, paid more than one half of the support and you both lived together with the children all year, you may both file amended returns so that the returns are correct. You must file amended returns (1040x) for the IRS within three years of the due date of the return.
I have a question and am not sure how to go about it. I have a child with someone who I was never married to. She is the custodial parent we have a joint custody agreement but he lives with her 4 out of 7 days a week. I pay child support. in the court order and joint custody agreement I am to claim him on even year and she is to claim on odd years unless she does work and that claiming him would benefit her then it defaults to me for claiming him. she hasn’t worked in the last 4 years. So I have claimed him all of the last 4 years. well last year she work for a total of maybe 3 months and already claimed him. she has 5 children and I though you could claim a maximum of 4 before it didn’t benifit, and I thought you had to work a certain amount before it would benefit her. I want to know who would be in the right of claiming him in the eyes of the IRS
Could someone explain to me why I cannot claim my fiancee as a dependent? Although she earned $11,000, this money was used pay off student loans and the remainder was sent back home to her parents. I paid 100% of her support, but I cannot claim her because she must earn less than 3700.