Who Can You Rightfully Claim as a Tax Dependent?

Do you ever wonder who you can rightfully claim as a dependent on your tax return and whether or not they qualify as a dependent?

A dependent is a person other than the taxpayer or spouse who entitles the taxpayer to claim a dependency exemption.  A dependent is someone you support. Support is the key requirement: you must have provided at least half of the person’s total support for the year — food, shelter, clothing, etc.

There are two common types of dependents, child dependent, and other relatives.

All dependents must meet the following requirements:

• Dependents can have their own tax returns, and even be married, but they must not have filed a joint tax return.
• They must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
• They must have a taxpayer identification number. That’s usually a Social Security Number, but if the child doesn’t qualify for one, it can be an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN).
• They cannot claim a personal exemption or claim another dependent on their own tax return.

Aside from the requirements mentioned above, each type of dependent is subject to different rules to be considered a qualifying dependent.

A QUALIFYING CHILD

• The child can be the taxpayer’s child or stepchild (whether by blood or adoption), foster child, sibling or stepsibling, or a descendant of one of these.
• Your child has the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Exceptions apply, in certain cases, for children of divorced or separated parents, kidnapped children, temporary absences, and for children who were born or died during the year.
• The child must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year.
• The child did not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year

A QUALIFYING RELATIVE

• The dependent cannot be a qualifying child of another taxpayer.
• The dependent earns less than the personal exemption amount during the year. For 2015, this means the dependent earns less than $4,000.
• The taxpayer provides more than half of the dependent’s total support during the year.
• The person must be either related to you or must have lived with you all year as a member of your household.

For more information on qualified dependents please visit IRS.gov or call us with any questions!