Deductions and Credits Who Counts as a Dependent for Taxes? Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by TurboTax Blog Team Published Jan 7, 2009 - [Updated Jan 6, 2021] 2 min read For updated information also see Who Can I Claim as My Dependent? Tax season is when we look at our family and friends in a different – and tax-deductible – light. Can you count your sister-in-law as a dependent? How about claiming your girlfriend and her unemployed brother? What about claiming your pet as a dependent? Believe it or not, the IRS code tells us that any of the above, except the retriever, could qualify as a dependent under the right circumstances. Why are dependents good to have at tax time? There are many tax benefits for having dependents. For each dependent you can legally claim, you get a $3,500 deduction on your 2008 taxes. So if you are in the 25 percent tax bracket and have three dependents, worth $10,500 in deductions, you could save $2,625 on your taxes. (However, for some higher-income earners, deductions are reduced.) In our society, where growing numbers of people live together who aren’t married or aren’t related, it’s good to know the rules. And if economic realities mean that you’ve had grown children move back home with you, or that you’ve extended financial help to a family member, you could get a tax break. The following guidelines only apply to adult dependents. (The IRS has all sorts of rules for dependent children, particularly those whose parents are divorced. For information, see IRS Publication 504: Divorced or Separated Individuals.) If you claim an adult as a dependent, that person must meet several IRS qualifications: Had less than $3,500 of gross income during 2008. Received more than half of his or her support from you for the year. Did not file a joint income tax return for 2008 with anyone else. Is a citizen or resident of the United States, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. Is a member of your household for the full year, or a relative who does or does not live with you. As you can see, this last requirement opens your door – and your tax return – to many potential dependents, as long as you’re willing to support them. So, to use our initial example, your live-in girlfriend and her brother who also lives with you could count as your dependents, if they meet qualifications. But what if you support someone who doesn’t live with you, such as your elderly mother? The IRS allows you to count as a dependent a whole list of relatives who don’t also have to occupy your home, as long as you provide more than half their annual support: Children, stepchildren, eligible foster child, grandchildren or great grandchildren Siblings, including half or step siblings Parents, grandparents, or any other direct ancestors Stepparents Aunts or uncles Nieces or nephews Fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, or sisters-in-law Unfortunately, your golden retriever is not among these. Nor is your gardener or house cleaner, even though it might seem you support them. They’re your employees, not your dependents. Previous Post A New Baby and Tax Breaks Next Post Can I Claim my Girlfriend as a Dependent? Written by Adam Middleton More from Adam Middleton 272 responses to “Who Counts as a Dependent for Taxes?” Newer Comments » I was unemployed and lived with my boyfriend last year. His tax lady told him to claim me as a dependent because unemployment is reported differently then w-2’s. This makes me nervous as I have been independent for many years now. If he claims me will it negatively affect me in any way? I might be taking graduate courses using loan money this coming year. Would it affect it or my tax return? Thanks! Reply Here is another great article to help you figure out who can be claimed as a dependent http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/taxes-101/personal-income-tax-exemptions-explained/ Ashley Reply Hello I was wondering if i could claim my 29 year old brother as a dependent… He hasn’t had a job in 1 1/2 Reply I claimed my brother in law. He lived in my house for 10 months. He only worked a month last year his W2 was less then $3650. Today I found out he was collecting unemployment! He collected over 10k. I do not know what to do? What does the IRS do in this case? Reply my daughter is a full time college student living at home she turned 25 on aug. 21, 2009. Can i claim her still as a dependent. Beth Reply My parents claimed me as a dependent even though they do not meet any of those criteria. I haven’t lived with them for two years, I make more than the minimum amount, and they only support they provide for me is allowing me to stay on their insurance (I pay all my medical bills, however). Can they claim me? If not, how do I correct there error? Reply My Boyfriend lives with me and he is a resident from mexico and doesnt work can i claim him as a dependent?? Thank you Reply My husband is a private contractor working in Iraq as a security, what can he claim as expenses when he is issued no receipt for his expenses? what exactly can he claim as his expenses, hair cuts count? Reply Hi, I have paid for my brother’s one semester fee for the school year 2008, and have also paid for his living expenses and airline tickets for his trips to back home. He is on F-1 status (student visa) and doesn’t live with me. Can I claim him as my dependent? I filed an extension for the 2008 taxes and I am not ready to file them. Please help me out on this one. Thanks… Reply My son turned 18 yrs. old on March 26th of 2009. When we completed our turbo tax it would not let us claim him for the child tax credit. Is this correct? I have the understanding from many friends that they were able to claim their child in the same age bracket for the child tax credit and they received their money so I am checking to see if we are in any way able to claim him as we could really use the money as he is headed off to college. And if so, how do we go about receiving that money? Reply Hello to A. Barham, Sorry but you can’t deduct any education costs (as a deduction or credit) that you are paying for your grandchild unless she was a dependent on your tax return. Reply Hello Margaret, Your question isn’t simple. 🙂 First your “gross income” must be less than $3,500. That “gross income” does not include social security that is not taxable. So if your taxable pension and other taxable income , not including your social security, is more than $3500, then your son cannot take you as a dependent. If your income is less than $3500, you need to check out the IRS worksheets. Here’s the link: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf. Scroll down to page 33 for more info. YOu’ll see that if you live in your own home, the fair rental value of your home is considered support that you contribute to yourself. There’s a good worksheet there to figure out your total support and how much is contributed by your son. If it should workout that your son can take you as a dependent and if you need to file a return, you won’t get your own exemption deduction (3650 for 2009). (you don’t need to file unless your “gross income” is at least $10,300. Reply Hello to Barbara, Sorry but you can’t claim your son’s tuition for a tuition deduction or education credit lifetime / hope) since you aren’t claiming him as a dependent. However, he can take the deduction/credit even tho’ you pay for it. Reply Can I still claim my son’s college tuition that I paid if I don’t claim him as a dependent? Reply I am 71 yrs. old on social security with a small pension that adds up to $6984 annually. My gross income is more than the $3500. My son lives with me, pays the mortgage, (two of them), food expenses, in short, everything. My money is used for medication and to pay insurance. He feels he can claim me as his dependent…my question, can he? and if he does, what will I lose by becoming his dependent? Please, can you respond? thank you, – sincerely, Margaret Reply We are helping my grand-daughter, who lives with us now, finish her nursing schooling. She has a B.S., but wants to become and R.N. and needs to take 2 years of classes to do this. We have taken out a personal loan to help her. Her mother claims her as a dependent since she is still paying on the loan she got for her daughter’s four year college tuition and won’t pay any more toward her education. Can we claim any of this loan interest/amount on our taxes since her mother is already claiming her as a dependent? Reply I had my granddaughter all year 2008 living in my household (under 2) I solely supported her all year, my daughter does not live with me but she claimed her on her taxes..and got her refund….Not knowing that— I claimed her also. I got a letter from the IRS that my tax refund is now on hold. Who is in the right to claim her, I would think i would have the right even if I do not have custody of her. Whats going to happen now? Reply My husband got terminated from his job after 12 weeks of FMLA because of the accident during work but he’s under work man’s comp. He recieved a check twice a month from work man’s comp insurance. My question is if we’re supposed to disclose whatever money he received this 2008 for 2009 tax filing? And also since he got terminated since Jan. 09 and he cannot go back to his usual work because of the surgery (neck surgery), is he considered unemployed for our 2009 tax? We filed jointly. Any advise is highly appreciated. Thank you very much. Reply My mother recently passed away. I live in another state, but provided tons of monetary support to her as she lived in a guardian care facility that mainly only took care of her health. Can I claim her as a dependent for her last year? Reply Why can people claim residents of resident of Canada or Mexico as dependants? Should worry more about keeping the money on this side of the border rahter than subsisizing half of Mexico Reply ljmeyers17 on November 7, 2011 @IMissBritneyAlexI Well it ended may 5th and people are still psoting their comments, wasn’t trying to be offensive, just helpful Reply I AM DISABLED I GOT BACK TIME ON MY DISIBILITY DO I HALF TO TURN THAT IN ON MY TAXES?? OR IS ALL OF THAT TAX FREE?? Reply My 2 sons 24 & 21 both filed there tax returns (earned more than $3500) and have received there federal returns. Each has lived in our home more than 6 monhs and received 100% support. The 24 year old was a full time student. The 21 year old was not a student last year. Can I claim any of my sons as dependents? Reply I have full custody of my son, but my ex is allowed to claim him as a dependent in our divorce agreement. Question – even though I don’t claim my son as a dependent, can I claim the child tax credit since he lives with me 100%? Reply I am the sponsor for my aunt and uncle to come to the United States. They both came last year as new resident aliens. They lived at my house for 8 months, so essentially they lived off of me. They did not work at all while they were here. Can I count them as dependants? Thanks. Reply Can I claim my niece if she is here on a student visa going to college, living with us. She makes no money here, pays no rent to us and we supposrt all her expenses, except for tuition. Reply July 13, 2008 the Court gave us temporary custody of a baby who was born January 3, 2008. We had to catch up all her medical check-ups and shots, paid for lots of medical attention for ear infections, etc. We also paid day-care expenses for her while I worked as well as all clothing, formula, diapers, etc. We still have custody of her and it’s April 11, 2009. Can we deduct the expenses for her care under charitable deductions since we can’t claim her as a dependent? Reply My husbands X wife took 1 of their children on her tax return even though the divorce decree states that he (my husband) gets that child as his deduction. Only stipulation state is that he is current with child support. He is current, has always been yet she’s taken this deduction for last year and now this year. We received a letter from the IRS stating that two people had taken the same child as a dependent but when he called they just told him to wait and see what happens? She’s very clever at angling for any advantage. Is there anyway she could get to claim this child? Any advice? Reply hello Danny, As long as you and your wife claim the child as a dependent on your tax return and the child lived with you all year, you can get the child tax credit. The child must be under age 17 and your income must be under $169,001. Reply hello to Mali, You cannot deduct the interest on the mortgage and the real estate taxes if your name is not on the home or the loan. Sorry. Reply hello Venki, This is from the IRS: ” You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the year.” So from this wording, it doesn’t look like you can take them as an exemption. Reply If your child is in a Correction Institution but you are sending money to him each month. Is that a deduction. Reply My mother is 81 yrs old and is on Social Security, SSI, and receives medicare and medicaid benefits… she does not live with me, but I help support her.. can I claim her as a dependent, or will that jeapordize her benefits. She has not filed taxes in over 7 yrs. Reply My nephew and his girlfriend have a child together. She is the custodial parent and claimed him on her tax return. But my nephew pays nearly 100% of his son’s childcare and private school costs. Can he claim any of these costs on his income tax? Thank you. Reply Our daughter is a 21 year old full time student living at home but she earned more than $3,500. Can we still claim her as a dependent? Reply my sister and her son ( 16 yrs ) lived with us for 7 months. We provided all support. Can we claim them as dependents if she also filed for when working the other 5 months. And if I can claim them will it affect her credit already received. Reply If I claim my girlfriend as a dependent for tax benefits, do I make myself liable for any of her financial debts? Reply My son and his family (wife and two teenage sons) have been living in our house for the last eight years. They do not pay rent or utility. Can we claim them as dependents on our taxes? Reply my husband and I are taking care of our three grandchildren (ages 17 months, 4yrs and 5years) They were with us in 2008 (May throught the end of 2008 and are still with us in 2009)They are wards of the court and we get paid a monthly payment for them. The question is can we claim them on our income taxes ?? Paying babysitter,diaper formula etc is more than we receive from the state. t Reply My mother-in-law lives with my wife and I for just over half the year. The rest of the time she lives with her son in a house she owns. Because of alzheimers she cannot live alone, drive etc. and my wife now has power of attorney. Her only income is Social Security which is mainly used to keep the house she owns functioning. Her SS income helps pay for some medical and other necessities. But we provide most of everything else. Can I claim her as a dependent? Reply I have a daughter who is a full time college student which does not live in my home whom I support. She has received schlorships and is the beneficiary of a Guaranteed college plan that I paid for. Can I claim her as a dependent and deduct her living expenses, books and college fees. Reply I am 61 years old and I live with my son, I don’t work. Can he claim me as a dependent? What other things can he write off as far as his support goes? Can he add me to his health insurance policy? Reply Hi Noelle, He can claim you if he provided over half of your support, your taxable income was not over $3,700, and you meet the citizenship test. Regarding his health insurance, adding you would be up to his provider. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis I have a son 22yrs old still a full time student unemployed, and I fully support him. How old does he have to be for me to stop claiming him? Reply I have a 38 year old son who does not live with me; Jason (the son)lives independently on his own, and is not my dependent. However, because of his autistic tendencies, he does not drive and either I or my wife drive him to work everyday. This is 22 miles roundtrip. Can I deduct mileage, and if so, how much Reply I am 29, supported my 40 year old brother. He did not work due to being addicted and had no place to stay. I payed for apartment and food expenses, transportation, hygien supplies etd. Being that I am older can I claim him as a relative exemption Reply Hi Ramona, Yes as long as you provided over half of his support, he didn’t make over $3,700, and he can meet the citizenship test. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Can I claim my wife and 2 kids as dependents who I supported year long but are living in my home country(INDIA)? Reply Hello to Don Eggert, Sorry but you can’t deduct the medical costs if you take the standard deduction. Reply Hello David, Check out IRS’ Publication 501 and look at page 18. Read the info on Multiple Support agreement. Since you and your sister are both supporting your mother, one of you may be able to claim her one year and the other the next year. Glad you enjoy our product. Here’s the link http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf Reply Hello to James, It sounds like you are paying for more than half of the support for your mother-in-law. If so, and her taxable income (do not include her social security ) is less than $3,500, you can claim her as a dependent and get an exemption amount for her. If you claim her as a dependent, you can deduct your mother-in-law medical /dental expenses including related transportation costs (for personal car- 19cents per mile (1/1/08-6/30/08) and 27 cents per mile (7/1/08 – 12/31/08). All of these costs are deducted on Schedule A and are limited to the expenses in excess of 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You cannot deduct her moving expenses to your home. Only moving related to changing of jobs is deductible. See http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502.html for more info on medical expenses. Reply Hello to MissMary, No, if the custodial parent has taken the child as a dependent, your son cannot also claim the child. He can only claim the child if the mother “released the exemption” to him.” Since she claimed the child, she didn’t release the exemption. Sorry Reply I AM A 35 YEAR OLD AND HAVE 2 CHILDREN. I LIVED WITH MY PARENTS ALL YEAR AND DID NOT WORK AT ALL IN 2008 BUT RECEIVED FOODSTAMPS AND MEDICAID. CAN MY PARENTS STILL CLAIM MY BOYS AND I ON THEIR TAXES? ALL YOUR HELP IS APPRECIATED. Reply my brothers daughter has 2 children. and collects a welfare check, food stamps and gets medacaid. And they live with my brother. Can my brother claim all 3 on his income tax as dependents. Reply i tried to claim my 21 daughter on my taxes and was told she was not eligible for earned income credits but her name appears on my tax forms.i also see mistakes made on my tax forms much different from my 2007 taxes. Reply My 27-year old son does not work, cannot drive, and lives in our home year-round. He is not disabled; however, he is fearful of leaving the security of our home. Can we still claim him as a dependent? A tax advisor said we could. 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I was unemployed and lived with my boyfriend last year. His tax lady told him to claim me as a dependent because unemployment is reported differently then w-2’s. This makes me nervous as I have been independent for many years now. If he claims me will it negatively affect me in any way? I might be taking graduate courses using loan money this coming year. Would it affect it or my tax return? Thanks! Reply
Here is another great article to help you figure out who can be claimed as a dependent http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/taxes-101/personal-income-tax-exemptions-explained/ Ashley Reply
Hello I was wondering if i could claim my 29 year old brother as a dependent… He hasn’t had a job in 1 1/2 Reply
I claimed my brother in law. He lived in my house for 10 months. He only worked a month last year his W2 was less then $3650. Today I found out he was collecting unemployment! He collected over 10k. I do not know what to do? What does the IRS do in this case? Reply
my daughter is a full time college student living at home she turned 25 on aug. 21, 2009. Can i claim her still as a dependent. Beth Reply
My parents claimed me as a dependent even though they do not meet any of those criteria. I haven’t lived with them for two years, I make more than the minimum amount, and they only support they provide for me is allowing me to stay on their insurance (I pay all my medical bills, however). Can they claim me? If not, how do I correct there error? Reply
My Boyfriend lives with me and he is a resident from mexico and doesnt work can i claim him as a dependent?? Thank you Reply
My husband is a private contractor working in Iraq as a security, what can he claim as expenses when he is issued no receipt for his expenses? what exactly can he claim as his expenses, hair cuts count? Reply
Hi, I have paid for my brother’s one semester fee for the school year 2008, and have also paid for his living expenses and airline tickets for his trips to back home. He is on F-1 status (student visa) and doesn’t live with me. Can I claim him as my dependent? I filed an extension for the 2008 taxes and I am not ready to file them. Please help me out on this one. Thanks… Reply
My son turned 18 yrs. old on March 26th of 2009. When we completed our turbo tax it would not let us claim him for the child tax credit. Is this correct? I have the understanding from many friends that they were able to claim their child in the same age bracket for the child tax credit and they received their money so I am checking to see if we are in any way able to claim him as we could really use the money as he is headed off to college. And if so, how do we go about receiving that money? Reply
Hello to A. Barham, Sorry but you can’t deduct any education costs (as a deduction or credit) that you are paying for your grandchild unless she was a dependent on your tax return. Reply
Hello Margaret, Your question isn’t simple. 🙂 First your “gross income” must be less than $3,500. That “gross income” does not include social security that is not taxable. So if your taxable pension and other taxable income , not including your social security, is more than $3500, then your son cannot take you as a dependent. If your income is less than $3500, you need to check out the IRS worksheets. Here’s the link: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf. Scroll down to page 33 for more info. YOu’ll see that if you live in your own home, the fair rental value of your home is considered support that you contribute to yourself. There’s a good worksheet there to figure out your total support and how much is contributed by your son. If it should workout that your son can take you as a dependent and if you need to file a return, you won’t get your own exemption deduction (3650 for 2009). (you don’t need to file unless your “gross income” is at least $10,300. Reply
Hello to Barbara, Sorry but you can’t claim your son’s tuition for a tuition deduction or education credit lifetime / hope) since you aren’t claiming him as a dependent. However, he can take the deduction/credit even tho’ you pay for it. Reply
I am 71 yrs. old on social security with a small pension that adds up to $6984 annually. My gross income is more than the $3500. My son lives with me, pays the mortgage, (two of them), food expenses, in short, everything. My money is used for medication and to pay insurance. He feels he can claim me as his dependent…my question, can he? and if he does, what will I lose by becoming his dependent? Please, can you respond? thank you, – sincerely, Margaret Reply
We are helping my grand-daughter, who lives with us now, finish her nursing schooling. She has a B.S., but wants to become and R.N. and needs to take 2 years of classes to do this. We have taken out a personal loan to help her. Her mother claims her as a dependent since she is still paying on the loan she got for her daughter’s four year college tuition and won’t pay any more toward her education. Can we claim any of this loan interest/amount on our taxes since her mother is already claiming her as a dependent? Reply
I had my granddaughter all year 2008 living in my household (under 2) I solely supported her all year, my daughter does not live with me but she claimed her on her taxes..and got her refund….Not knowing that— I claimed her also. I got a letter from the IRS that my tax refund is now on hold. Who is in the right to claim her, I would think i would have the right even if I do not have custody of her. Whats going to happen now? Reply
My husband got terminated from his job after 12 weeks of FMLA because of the accident during work but he’s under work man’s comp. He recieved a check twice a month from work man’s comp insurance. My question is if we’re supposed to disclose whatever money he received this 2008 for 2009 tax filing? And also since he got terminated since Jan. 09 and he cannot go back to his usual work because of the surgery (neck surgery), is he considered unemployed for our 2009 tax? We filed jointly. Any advise is highly appreciated. Thank you very much. Reply
My mother recently passed away. I live in another state, but provided tons of monetary support to her as she lived in a guardian care facility that mainly only took care of her health. Can I claim her as a dependent for her last year? Reply
Why can people claim residents of resident of Canada or Mexico as dependants? Should worry more about keeping the money on this side of the border rahter than subsisizing half of Mexico Reply
ljmeyers17 on November 7, 2011 @IMissBritneyAlexI Well it ended may 5th and people are still psoting their comments, wasn’t trying to be offensive, just helpful Reply
I AM DISABLED I GOT BACK TIME ON MY DISIBILITY DO I HALF TO TURN THAT IN ON MY TAXES?? OR IS ALL OF THAT TAX FREE?? Reply
My 2 sons 24 & 21 both filed there tax returns (earned more than $3500) and have received there federal returns. Each has lived in our home more than 6 monhs and received 100% support. The 24 year old was a full time student. The 21 year old was not a student last year. Can I claim any of my sons as dependents? Reply
I have full custody of my son, but my ex is allowed to claim him as a dependent in our divorce agreement. Question – even though I don’t claim my son as a dependent, can I claim the child tax credit since he lives with me 100%? Reply
I am the sponsor for my aunt and uncle to come to the United States. They both came last year as new resident aliens. They lived at my house for 8 months, so essentially they lived off of me. They did not work at all while they were here. Can I count them as dependants? Thanks. Reply
Can I claim my niece if she is here on a student visa going to college, living with us. She makes no money here, pays no rent to us and we supposrt all her expenses, except for tuition. Reply
July 13, 2008 the Court gave us temporary custody of a baby who was born January 3, 2008. We had to catch up all her medical check-ups and shots, paid for lots of medical attention for ear infections, etc. We also paid day-care expenses for her while I worked as well as all clothing, formula, diapers, etc. We still have custody of her and it’s April 11, 2009. Can we deduct the expenses for her care under charitable deductions since we can’t claim her as a dependent? Reply
My husbands X wife took 1 of their children on her tax return even though the divorce decree states that he (my husband) gets that child as his deduction. Only stipulation state is that he is current with child support. He is current, has always been yet she’s taken this deduction for last year and now this year. We received a letter from the IRS stating that two people had taken the same child as a dependent but when he called they just told him to wait and see what happens? She’s very clever at angling for any advantage. Is there anyway she could get to claim this child? Any advice? Reply
hello Danny, As long as you and your wife claim the child as a dependent on your tax return and the child lived with you all year, you can get the child tax credit. The child must be under age 17 and your income must be under $169,001. Reply
hello to Mali, You cannot deduct the interest on the mortgage and the real estate taxes if your name is not on the home or the loan. Sorry. Reply
hello Venki, This is from the IRS: ” You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the year.” So from this wording, it doesn’t look like you can take them as an exemption. Reply
If your child is in a Correction Institution but you are sending money to him each month. Is that a deduction. Reply
My mother is 81 yrs old and is on Social Security, SSI, and receives medicare and medicaid benefits… she does not live with me, but I help support her.. can I claim her as a dependent, or will that jeapordize her benefits. She has not filed taxes in over 7 yrs. Reply
My nephew and his girlfriend have a child together. She is the custodial parent and claimed him on her tax return. But my nephew pays nearly 100% of his son’s childcare and private school costs. Can he claim any of these costs on his income tax? Thank you. Reply
Our daughter is a 21 year old full time student living at home but she earned more than $3,500. Can we still claim her as a dependent? Reply
my sister and her son ( 16 yrs ) lived with us for 7 months. We provided all support. Can we claim them as dependents if she also filed for when working the other 5 months. And if I can claim them will it affect her credit already received. Reply
If I claim my girlfriend as a dependent for tax benefits, do I make myself liable for any of her financial debts? Reply
My son and his family (wife and two teenage sons) have been living in our house for the last eight years. They do not pay rent or utility. Can we claim them as dependents on our taxes? Reply
my husband and I are taking care of our three grandchildren (ages 17 months, 4yrs and 5years) They were with us in 2008 (May throught the end of 2008 and are still with us in 2009)They are wards of the court and we get paid a monthly payment for them. The question is can we claim them on our income taxes ?? Paying babysitter,diaper formula etc is more than we receive from the state. t Reply
My mother-in-law lives with my wife and I for just over half the year. The rest of the time she lives with her son in a house she owns. Because of alzheimers she cannot live alone, drive etc. and my wife now has power of attorney. Her only income is Social Security which is mainly used to keep the house she owns functioning. Her SS income helps pay for some medical and other necessities. But we provide most of everything else. Can I claim her as a dependent? Reply
I have a daughter who is a full time college student which does not live in my home whom I support. She has received schlorships and is the beneficiary of a Guaranteed college plan that I paid for. Can I claim her as a dependent and deduct her living expenses, books and college fees. Reply
I am 61 years old and I live with my son, I don’t work. Can he claim me as a dependent? What other things can he write off as far as his support goes? Can he add me to his health insurance policy? Reply
Hi Noelle, He can claim you if he provided over half of your support, your taxable income was not over $3,700, and you meet the citizenship test. Regarding his health insurance, adding you would be up to his provider. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
I have a son 22yrs old still a full time student unemployed, and I fully support him. How old does he have to be for me to stop claiming him? Reply
I have a 38 year old son who does not live with me; Jason (the son)lives independently on his own, and is not my dependent. However, because of his autistic tendencies, he does not drive and either I or my wife drive him to work everyday. This is 22 miles roundtrip. Can I deduct mileage, and if so, how much Reply
I am 29, supported my 40 year old brother. He did not work due to being addicted and had no place to stay. I payed for apartment and food expenses, transportation, hygien supplies etd. Being that I am older can I claim him as a relative exemption Reply
Hi Ramona, Yes as long as you provided over half of his support, he didn’t make over $3,700, and he can meet the citizenship test. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Can I claim my wife and 2 kids as dependents who I supported year long but are living in my home country(INDIA)? Reply
Hello to Don Eggert, Sorry but you can’t deduct the medical costs if you take the standard deduction. Reply
Hello David, Check out IRS’ Publication 501 and look at page 18. Read the info on Multiple Support agreement. Since you and your sister are both supporting your mother, one of you may be able to claim her one year and the other the next year. Glad you enjoy our product. Here’s the link http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf Reply
Hello to James, It sounds like you are paying for more than half of the support for your mother-in-law. If so, and her taxable income (do not include her social security ) is less than $3,500, you can claim her as a dependent and get an exemption amount for her. If you claim her as a dependent, you can deduct your mother-in-law medical /dental expenses including related transportation costs (for personal car- 19cents per mile (1/1/08-6/30/08) and 27 cents per mile (7/1/08 – 12/31/08). All of these costs are deducted on Schedule A and are limited to the expenses in excess of 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You cannot deduct her moving expenses to your home. Only moving related to changing of jobs is deductible. See http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc502.html for more info on medical expenses. Reply
Hello to MissMary, No, if the custodial parent has taken the child as a dependent, your son cannot also claim the child. He can only claim the child if the mother “released the exemption” to him.” Since she claimed the child, she didn’t release the exemption. Sorry Reply
I AM A 35 YEAR OLD AND HAVE 2 CHILDREN. I LIVED WITH MY PARENTS ALL YEAR AND DID NOT WORK AT ALL IN 2008 BUT RECEIVED FOODSTAMPS AND MEDICAID. CAN MY PARENTS STILL CLAIM MY BOYS AND I ON THEIR TAXES? ALL YOUR HELP IS APPRECIATED. Reply
my brothers daughter has 2 children. and collects a welfare check, food stamps and gets medacaid. And they live with my brother. Can my brother claim all 3 on his income tax as dependents. Reply
i tried to claim my 21 daughter on my taxes and was told she was not eligible for earned income credits but her name appears on my tax forms.i also see mistakes made on my tax forms much different from my 2007 taxes. Reply
My 27-year old son does not work, cannot drive, and lives in our home year-round. He is not disabled; however, he is fearful of leaving the security of our home. Can we still claim him as a dependent? A tax advisor said we could. Reply