Family Can I Claim My Parent as a Dependent? 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 TurboTaxBlogTeam Published Apr 18, 2024 - [Updated Mar 27, 2025] 8 min read Reviewed by Jotika Teli, CPA Claiming dependents can help you reduce your tax liability, but there are rules regarding who you can claim. You may be wondering, “Can I claim my parents as dependents?” While the answer may be yes, it ultimately depends on your circumstances. Sorting it out on your own can be a bit confusing, so we’ve outlined what you need to know in this guide. Learn more about claiming a parent as a dependent and what you need to know before you file your taxes. Table of Contents Why might you claim a parent as a dependent?Are there rules for claiming your parents as dependents?Requirements for claiming your parent as a dependentPros and cons of claiming your parents as dependents How Claiming a Parent Affects Your Filing StatusHow to claim your parents as dependents Why might you claim a parent as a dependent? There are a handful of reasons you may want to claim a parent as a dependent. But before you do that, you and your parent(s) must meet certain criteria to be eligible to claim them as a dependent. Claiming an elderly parent as a dependent is common for children who act as caregivers. Even if your parents don’t need full-time care, claiming them as a dependent allows you to support your parents while minimizing your financial burden. If you pay for care for your elderly parents, you may also be eligible for caretaking tax breaks, so make sure to look into those opportunities as well. Tax credits and exemptions can help you reduce your tax liability. Are there rules for claiming your parents as dependents? There are special tax rules for parents. If your qualifying person is your father or mother, you may be eligible to file as head of household, even if your parent doesn’t live with you. However, your mother or father must meet the qualifications of being a dependent. For example, you must pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was your parents’ main home for the entire year. If you pay more than half the cost of your parents’ senior living or assisted care facility, that counts as paying more than half the cost of keeping up your parents’ main home. As with anything tax-related, you’ll have to meet a few requirements. Once the requirements are satisfied, you’ll be able to receive an additional tax break for your efforts, designed to help offset the costs associated with caring for a parent. However, don’t worry about knowing the tax rules; TurboTax will ask simple questions about your dependents and give you the tax deductions and credits you’re eligible for based on your answers. Requirements for claiming your parent as a dependent The IRS has strict rules about who you can claim as a dependent. We’ll go into more detail below, but here’s a quick overview of the eligibility requirements for your parents to be claimed as dependents: Your parent’s gross income must be less than $4,700 for the calendar year You must pay for at least half of your parent’s support throughout the year Your parent can’t be claimed as a child by another taxpayer Your parent must be a US citizen, US national, US resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico You can’t be a dependent of another taxpayer Married parents can’t file a joint return unless they’re only filing to receive an income tax or estimated tax refund If your parent is a foster parent, they need to live with you for the entire calendar year Support Means Support To meet the support requirements necessary to claim your parent as a dependent on your tax return, you must cover more than half of your parent’s support costs, meaning 51% or more of their support must be covered by you. These costs include: Food Housing/lodging expenses Clothing Entertainment Medical services and/or equipment costs You are also allowed to include your dependent parent’s medical expenses on your own tax return if you itemize when calculating your medical deductions. If support for your parent was given by a group of individuals or family members, you may want to sign a Multiple Support Declaration (Form 2120) if you also supported your parent and you want to claim them on your tax return as a dependent. A Multiple Support Declaration (Form 2120) is a signed statement from each eligible person, waiving his or her right to claim the parent as a dependent. Residency and Relationship The technical term the IRS uses to meet the relationship requirement for these tax and life situations is “Qualifying Relative.” This means that the person you’re caring for can be your parent, in-law, or even a grandparent. However, they must be related to you biologically, by adoption, or through marriage (which would technically be a biological relationship with your spouse). Your parent, in-law, grandparent, or other relative does not have to live with you all year like a non-relative. And guess what? The IRS has residency requirements as well. To meet the residency requirement, the person you are caring for must meet one of the following requirements: Be a legal US Citizen Be a U.S. National Be a U.S. Resident Alien Be a Resident of Canada or Mexico Social Security and Gross Income The parent you want to claim as a dependent on your tax return must have a Social Security number (SSN) or an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). Either of these numbers will satisfy the identification requirement for the IRS. Also, the parent you are claiming cannot file a joint tax return. To be allowed to claim your parent as a dependent, your parent’s taxable income must be less than $4,700 for tax year 2023 (and $5,050 for 2024). This means that if your parent’s income falls into that threshold you aren’t eligible to claim them as a dependent. Non-taxable income such as Social Security does not factor into the calculation of total income for purposes of claiming a parent as a dependent. More Perks and Requirements One of the last requirements to claim your parent as a dependent on your tax return is that you can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return or eligible as a dependent (even without being claimed) if you plan to claim your parent as a dependent. Pros and cons of claiming your parents as dependents Before filing your taxes, you should weigh the pros and cons of claiming parents as dependents. Claiming parents as dependents can be a smart choice, but it’s all about your situation. Pros of claiming your parents as dependents Claiming a parent as a dependent means you may qualify for certain deductions and credits, which can reduce your taxable income. With the money you save on taxes, you can provide the support your parents need to live happy, healthy lives. Your parents don’t have to live with you for more than half the year to qualify as a dependent. As long as you pay more than half of the household expenses for your parents, you can claim them as dependents even if they live elsewhere. You could be eligible for the new “Other Dependent Credit,” worth $500 on your return. More good news! You may also be able to claim the “Dependent Care Credit” if your parent needs assistance while you are at work or away. Cons of claiming your parents as dependents When you claim your parents as dependents, they may not be eligible for certain tax benefits. Your parents may not qualify for assistance programs, including SNAP and utility offsets. While tax credits and deductions can help you reduce your taxable income, you still have to pay a significant amount in care costs. The tax benefits you receive from claiming your parents as dependents will only partially offset medical expenses and other care costs. How Claiming a Parent Affects Your Filing Status Before you claim a parent as a dependent on your taxes, you should know how it affects your taxes. Under certain circumstances, you may be able to claim your parent as a dependent and file as head of household (HOH). To file as head of household, you must meet the following criteria: You paid more than half of the home expenses for the calendar year. You weren’t married on the last day of the year. A qualifying person must live with you for at least half the year. Parents don’t have to live with you for half the year, but you must be able to claim them as dependents. How to claim your parents as dependents If you’re wondering how to claim a parent as a dependent, the answer is simple. Once you’re sure you and your parent(s) meet all eligibility requirements, you can add them under the “Dependents” section on Form 1040. You’ll need to provide a first and last name, Social Security number, and relationship to you. You’ll also need to specify whether each dependent qualifies for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents. You can review our guide to dependents to learn more about eligibility requirements for dependents. Don’t worry about knowing these tax rules. No matter what moves you made last year, TurboTax will make them count on your taxes. Whether you want to do your taxes yourself or have a TurboTax expert file for you, we’ll make sure you get every dollar you deserve and your biggest possible refund – guaranteed. Get started Previous Post 7 Wedding Expenses That Are Tax Deductible Next Post What is Capital Gains Tax? Capital Gains Explained & How… Written by TurboTaxBlogTeam More from TurboTaxBlogTeam 219 responses to “Can I Claim My Parent as a Dependent?” Hi, I have a question: I paid medical expenses for my mom in India in 2021. She is a Indian citizen and housemaker (no income). She tavelled to US once in 2010 on visitor visa. Can I claim her medical expenses (paid in India) in my tax return for 2021? Pls help. Thx. Reply Hi Ravindra, Unfortunately, based on the information you provided your mom does not meet the residency requirements to be considered a dependent on your tax return and would not qualify for you to claim the medical expenses you paid for her. Hope this information provides some clarity as you complete your tax return. Sincerely, Katharina Reekmans Reply My 89 father does not live with me but I claim him as a dependent he also gets SSI. Is this OK? Also, he’s recently received an over payment letter if we send in an over payment waive will I get in trouble for claiming him? Reply my mom is not working for almost 4 yrs now, no source of income. She is living with me and I support all her needs. Can I claim her as my dependent Reply Hi Len, Yes, your Mother may qualify under the new “Other Dependent” credit. Turbo Tax makes it easy and will ask simple questions to make sure you get the dependent credit if you are eligible. Thank You, Kasey Ortiz Reply Of course you can claim her as dependent, I claim my parents as dependents, they dont work and I fully support them. Reply Can SSI find that a recipient was claimed as a dependent on a relative tax return, even if her benefits are tax-free? Reply Hi! If a parent has only been a legal resident of the U.S for 2 Month of the year, Can they be claim in the tax as a dependent? Reply I claimed my mother in law who is unemployed and has been for over 23 years. How much do I make for her? She is demanding a lot for claiming her but I would like to know how much you roughly get for claiming an unemployed in-law. Reply my mom came here in the US last february 11,2018. shes living with me and not working. can i claim her as dependent? Reply Hello, Can I claim my parents if they live in their own home which I pay taxes to and I live in my own home. If I can, would I be able to put their home as a deduction as well? Reply My sister and I equally take care of our parents, Can I claim one and her the other one as a dependent? If they/we meet all the other requirements? Reply Yes that is covered in the article. Since you have to supply more than 51% of a persons assistance is the only requirement, other than being direct family member. So as long as you meet all other requirements then yes. Each of you would get the same tax break, unless there is substantial medical bills that were shared support. You would have to figure that out with your sister. Reply My son wants to put me as a dependent on his taxes this would be the first year. We live together as of may of 2017 I stopped working I am 63 now I started rec my social security early in December 2017. I did not work in 2018 he pays most of the bills and food and also any other things I need personally. Reply Yes, he can claim you. I’m in the same boat with my mom. I take care of her. She collects Social Security only and I have no issues as that is not taxable income. Reply My mother live with me can I claim her she get Social security and a pension…The pension is about 1000.00 a month Reply My elderly mom lives with me, which I pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance, as well as any upkeep expenses. My mom provide her own utilities and necessities like food, clothing, etc. also she’s on SSI. She is US citizen. Can I claim her on my tax? Reply My elderly parents live in my home of which I pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance, as well as any upkeep expenses. They provide their own utilities and necessities like food, clothing, etc. They have only social security income and are on medicare and do not file federal taxes. I do not live in my home with them. I share a home with my fiance and we file taxes separately as single. Can I claim my parents as dependents while also claiming my home expenses? Would this be double dipping? Reply Both my parents live with me in CA and have $0.00 income. They are on Medi-CAL insurance. May I claim them as dependents on my tax returns? Reply Hi Suhas, If you provide over half of their support and they meet the citizenship test you should be able to claim them. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and give you the dependent exemptions if you are eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Hi Lisa, My parents and in-laws were visited to me for six months each last year with me from outside USA. And they don’t have SSN. So can I include them as dependents in my Tax Returns??? My mom (an Indian national) lives in India but I take care of all her expenses, can I claim her as a dependent? Reply Hi, In order to claim her as a dependent she must be a US citizen, US national or a resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico during the year. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and give you the tax deductions you are eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply How can I get the ITIN for my fathers in order to quality as dependents? They are mexicans and live there Thanks Reply Hi Rodrigo, Your father can apply for an ITIN by using form W-7 and attaching his tax return. Here are some links for more information https://www.irs.gov/individuals/general-itin-information https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-news/the-path-act-and-what-you-need-to-know-about-expiring-itins-24751/ Once he has an ITIN, he can go online and file with TurboTax. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply I am 54 years old i do not work my son live with me can he claim me as a dependent. I have cancer he pays the bills Reply Hi Theresa — Yes, your son may be able to claim you as his dependent, as long as both of you meet IRS criteria: Relationship: The person lives in your home for the entire year and is considered to be a member of your household. If they don’t live with you, they need to be related to you. Income: Generally, their income is less than $4,000 (not including Social Security and welfare). Support: Generally, you provide more than half the person’s support. Marital status: Generally, a dependent can’t do their taxes with a spouse (married filing jointly). The also can’t be a dependent on someone else’s return. Nationality: The person is a United States citizen; or a resident or national of the U.S., Canada or Mexico. When you son begins his tax return in TurboTax we’ll ask the appropriate questions so he can determine if he can claim you as his dependent. — Joanna Reply I live with my mom and sister they both receive SSI my sister is totally disabled since she was born. Both of them receive 700 dollars each a month. I help pay the bills and buy the food and items take them to doctors visit, buy medicines. I work and would like to claim both as dependents my sister is totally disabled and she is 52 and they told me she qualifies for the EIC credit can you explain to me what I have to do. Reply If the requirements state that just being Canadian resident qualifies it, how can they require a social security number if Canada doesn’t use the US SSN. This makes no sense at all … Reply I take care of my mother yet she lives in a catholic charities home. I shop for her I take her to doctors I handle all her bills I take care of her medications. I take her where she needs to go. she gets SSI and foodstamps. Would I be able to claim her as a dependent? Reply Hi Lyn, You can claim your mother if: -Your mother is a US Citizen, US National, a resident of Mexico or Canada -She does not provide over half of her own support -She does not receive more than $4,000 taxable income. TurboTax will ask you simple tax questions and help you claim your mother if you are eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply my 22 year old son has his own income full time job doesnt go to school but he lives with us , can I still put him in tax return, we pay all the expenses he just gives me some money for the rent . Reply So, my mom is about to retired and I want to support her monthly since her paycheck will be less than 500 a month. Can I claim her as a depend so I can get more money to help her finacially and will it affect at the end of the year? Reply My mom visits from India for 4-5 months every year and I support her when she is back in India, can I claim her as a dependent? She does not have any means of income. Reply My mother lives with me 24/7. She only receives SSI. I think it’s about $1100-1200/mo. I pay my mortgage/taxes every month which is about $1500/mo. Money she receives go to her minor bills, food, etc. She only pays the electric to help out. Can I claim her as a dependent? Reply You can claim your mother if you actually pay more than what she receives from SSI. Reply To add onto my previous comment, if I were to claim her as a dependent, would I change my exemptions to 1 or 2? Currently I’m only claiming myself. Reply So, my mother was laid off last summer. Since then, I’ve provided for her financially. I’m a college student and I work full-time. I live at home with her under housing with a subsided rent of $600 and she gets food stamps for herself. Other than that, I pay all the bills and necessities. Would I be able to claim her as a dependent? She is considered head of household on the housing with myself and my sister. Being that I am 24, I am independent according to my university but my mother takes up a good chunk of my income – Please advice. Thank you Reply So apparently a US Resident Alien can obtain a SS# or ITIN? Reply Yes. Most furms will offer an ITIN free of charge Reply My wifes parents lived with her for the past few years. Both had Residency status and were going for US Citizenship however, due to the harsh weather last year decided to return to their home country at the end of Feb. My wife still sends them close to 85% of their income. I put into TT the 2 months they lived there and checked off that she provided more than half their cost of living. It gave a full 3950 pp deduction which is not what I expected. I would have expected 2/12ths of that. I’m a bit concerned about proceeding with that because it seems wrong. Any advice? Reply Can I claim my father as a dependent even though he get workers comp payments every month. He doesn’t work due to not having one working arm that he lost at his job in a explosion and he lives with me. Other than his workers comp checks, I’m the one that provides for him. Reply http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html Yes sir you can. Reply So, just to clarify my question because it is similar to others. My mom lives with me rent free. She is retired and get social security, but that is it. With that said, does that count as “income” or no? If yes, then I guess I could not claim her, but I don’t think it does. So, if her social security is the only money she gets and I pay for everything else (again, she does not pay rent), then can I claim her next year as a dependent? Reply If my mother lived with me until June of last year, and I have since been paying her monthly rent(she is on housing so it is only $50 per month) I also send money to her, and pay her phone bills, and she only received $287 a month in general assistance last year. Am I still able to claim her? If so, what type of documentation is needed to do so? Reply No need for documentation. You can claim your mom. You only need documentation if you’re audited. And that is typically bank statements Reply My 84 year old mother moved in with us 1/6/15. She get her monthly SS check $1,105. She pays me $550 a month to help out. She has a provider that Medicaid pays for. Do I claim her? Reply No. If you’re getting paid, you can’t claim her. She is only your dependent if you are paying over $2k a month for her living expenses. Reply SS isn’t considered income. I claimed a parent as a dependent, and met all the requirements needed, however did not receive the refund into my return. Why is that? Reply Hi Christopher, It could be that someone already claimed them or you had a refund offset for back taxes or outstanding debts like student loans offset from the Treasury department. The IRS should send you a notice explaining the adjustment. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Hi. I am a registered tax professional. I can assure you that whether your parent lives with you or not, if you pay for more than half of all her expenses for the year, you can claim her/or him on your tax return Reply What if the source of the funds is SSDI? Reply First time claiming my dad, I meet all the requirements but when I was being processed, it said I needed to be 25 years of age? Why? Reply It’s the law. Cuz under 25 someone else can claim you. Reply Can my son claim me on his taxes if I get disability and it won’t hurt my disability since he lives with me and pays more then half the exspenses Reply Hello did your son end up claiming you?? I’m also wanting to claim my mother who is on ssi.. Reply My mother is 76 yrs old. She has COPD and other medical problems and has been unable to work for a few years and cannot drive. She draws Social Security. She has a mortgage and her personal bills (insurance etc.) that she pays. I live with her and pay the electric, water, food, take her to her doctor appointments and I pay for the upkeep on her home (In 2014 I paid over 7000.00 to have her bathroom remodeled as the floor had rotten out). Am I able to get the deduction? Reply add up her expenses for the year. (mortgage, gas, food, insurance, etc..) take 50% of that. if you paid 50% you can claim her has a dependent. if not, then no. Reply If my mom is on ssi but welfare doesnt know I live with her can she lose her ssi if I claim her on my taxes for the last three years I need the money to move forward in life but I dont want to take her ssi Reply Or for her to lose it Reply look at website If my mom is on ssi but welfare doesnt know I live with her can she lose her ssi if I claim her on my taxes for the last three years Reply I’m certainly not a tax expert but I do have experience with SSI. If you are providing more than half of your mother’s support (and could prove it in case of an audit) then it appears as if you can claim her as a dependent as long as other requirements are met. You can check these requirements at the IRS site. You didn’t mention whether or not your mother is receiving the maximum SSI benefit per month. If she is (about $733) and you are paying for most of her needs in terms of food and shelter, then she should not be receiving the full amount of SSI. If there are two people in a household, she should be paying her fair share (1/2) of the food and shelter costs.. If she isn’t, then her benefits would be reduced and she might also have to pay back benefits she received in error. She also shouldn’t be receiving money directly from another person.. Apparently there are many people who don’t follow these rules and never get caught. I don’t think claiming her as a dependent would alert the Social Security Dept. as to your arrangement. I guess what you choose to do depends on your tolerance for risk. If you did get audited it would reveal that you are living with your mother, which you are clearly worried about. Again – I’m not a tax expert so do your own research at the IRS and SS sites. Reply what if i take all the ssi, send parent to a home and pay 100% of that cost. is parent still a dependent? My parents live with us, they are both retired. They are US immigrants but have never worked here. They refuse to apply for health insurance unless the government provides . Are we going to be taxed if we include them as dependents under the obacare law? Reply Can I claim my mother if she receives a pension of $209 per month but her gross was $4281 per year because of medical benefits Reply My mother moved to NM in Oct. 2014 to live with my brother. Two monhs later she had a massive stroke and is now in a nursing home. My brother has been withdrawing and presumably spending her social security checks that are deposited into her checking account each month because he has her check card and pin number. Is that allowed? He says the money shouldn’t be there once her Medicaid kicks in because once that happens *they get all her money* is that true? I think he’ll also be claiming her as a Dependent when he files his income taxes in 2015. Is mom living with him two months long enough for him to do that? She’s not really dependent on him now though he makes all medical decisions for her. He’s more dependent on her because he’s spending her money. I just want mom’s money to be deposited into an account that he can’t touch. She has credit card debt (less than $2000) That he’s made a couple of minimum payments on since this happened. But no savings. She is poor, and has only the SS checks as her income. I feel like my hands are completely tied. Help! Reply it is true they will keep all of her checks and take whatever she has in the bank. i recommend you take her money and put it in your bank account Reply The problem is that there is a 3 to 5 year look back period so the government can recoup any money your mother gave you within that time period. my 71 year old father lives with me and my husband and only has ssi .My husband and i support him and are his caregiver. Do we need to claim his ssi on taxes as income ? Reply Hi Candice, No you would not claim his social security on your taxes. If he had any other taxable income he would file his taxes separately and include his social security may need to be included depending on his other income, but if he doesn’t have any other income he doesn’t need to file. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply If my mom is on ssi but welfare doesnt know I live with her can she lose her ssi if I claim her on my taxes for the last three years My mother has been out of work for almost 3 years do to a work injury that disabled her she just started receiving SS disability in December 2014 I support end her for the last 3 years she did get a $20,000 settlement last year bout most of it was to pay off her debt that was built up can I claim her on my taxes if so do I need and paper trail? Reply I pay a visit each day a few websites and sites to read articles or reviews, however this weeb site provides feature based articles. Reply I am 56 and am on disability and own the home me and my mother live in and i provide for most the her support. she draws a pension of $500 a month plus her SS. I do not file taxes now would i be able to file and calm her. Reply My home has been paid off and I’ve been on disability for years my income is not enough to file income tax from what they say. can my son or daughter use my taxes or other expenses as a deduction and if possible how far back are they allowed to go? Reply Tax Experts: My wife’s parents (she herself is a resident alien) were here earlier this year and met the 183 day prerequisite . They have since gone back to China. Mw wife and I file a joint return. Am I amble to claim them as dependents? They didn’t earn any monies. Thanks, Barry Reply My mom is a Filipino Citizen and has no income at all. She is currently in Philippines but once lived in the US from 1995- 2006 and worked at Jordan from 2011-2014. Is she eligible? and she is 48 years of age Reply I moved into my mom’s to support her after she was diagnosed with ALZ and dementia. She only collects social security. I never changed my address to her’s can I claim her as a dependent? Also I pay for her to go to an Adult Day Care while I’m at work is that an deductible expense? Reply Hi, I want to know if and what I need to be able to claim my mother as a dependant. She is a Mexican citizen but I have had her move in with me since August 2014. She is 55 years old and has no income. I am a US resident and I am working on getting my citizenship and saving enough money to be able to request her residency. Please advise. Thanks. Reply Can i claim my parents as dependents if im the only source of income in the house hod and pay all the bills . Fpl meds and ect. They both do not have income im their only sourse of income Reply My mother is 93, legally blind and lives with me. I provide her with food, shelter and transportation and other living expenses. She receives SS only. May I claim her as a dependent? Reply My mom has lived with me for the past 3 years. She does not work but collects retirement monthly. I’m not sure if that is non-taxable or not?? I’ve never thought about claiming her as a dependent on my taxes until today. She doesn’t collect SS. The house is mine, I pay the mortgage, all of the bills and most groceries. Can I claim her? Or would her retirement need to be under the $3,900? Reply I claim my parents as dependents on my joint return with my wife. They are US residents for 9 years now, ages 82 and 76. They have no income. They do not qualify for medicare or medicaid and don’t have health insurance. I cannot possibly afford to insure them. Will I have to pay a penalty for them or can I gat an exemption. Reply Hi TurboTaxLisa! Someone touched on the joint account issue, but I didn’t see a reply. What cap, if any, is there on what assets the dependent parent is holding? What if it’s a joint savings account with me? The worksheet asks for a beginning of the year and end of the year total for the dependents holdings. Do we list one-half of the savings since it’s half mine? Thanks! Reply My daughter’s grandmother lives with me, with her daughter (my girlfriend), and her granddaughter. I pay for all my girlfriend’s mothers’ support costs, and she is a U.S. citizen who is in this country 10 months per year, making way under $3,900 per year.Can I claim her as a deduction? Meaning, is my daughter’s biological link to her sufficient to fulfill the biological criterion, even though her daughter and I are not married? Reply I am purchasing a second home in my name for my parents. They are not contributing anything financially for the home. I will also need to make some modifications such as wider doors for wheelchair access and ramp outside to accommodate their needs. Is it better to allow them to live rent free (as planned) or charge them a nominal fee? Plus, am I able to claim my step-father as a dependent (never adopted me) if I cover 51% of his living expenses? Thanks! Reply my friends mom said that social security is taking 110 dollars a month out of here check indefinatly because he claimed her on his taxes as a dependant…. can that be possible ? doesnt make any sence to me i ve been claiming my dad for 12 years never any thing like this Reply My mom is on SSI *$724.00/month+she gets $85.00 in food stamps. I provide a lot of financial support for her. Since she is on SSI can I claim her as dependent? What are the qualifications for that? Reply Hi Irina, As long as she is a US citizen or national, you provided over half of her support, and she did not make over $3,900 taxable income in 2013, $3,950 in 2014, you should be able to claim her. If she has no other income that would be combined with the social security income increasing the total combined income to $25,000, her social security income should not be taxable. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Hi Lisa, I’ve been supporting my parents 100% since October or November 2013. They will be getting their social security numbers and green cards August of this year (2014). Can I claim them for 2014? Thanks in advance. i have a question If I start recieving payments for ssi in november can my sister file me and my children on her taxes for the year Hello, If someone could help me with figuring something out for future reference, it would be greatly appreciated. My father SSI, and lives on a fixed income, however, they do not take taxes out of his SS income. But he cares for two of his young grand children in his retirement. So, my question is, that since his income isn’t at the limit in which he has to file taxes, and doesn’t have taxes taken from his monthly payments, can he still file, and get the exemptions for caring for his two grandchildren for 100% of their needs? I’m unsure about it, because they do not take taxes from his monthly SS payments, but he still has dependents supported by that income. Any help in figuring this out would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! 🙂 Reply Why file? There is no benefit to be had, since no taxes were taken out there will be no tax refund. If there were someone else involved, say a working spouse with earned income, then there would likely be a benefit to filing a tax return. Reply I care for my parents in India and provide them support for living expenses. Also, we take care of their medical expenses. Can I claim their expenses under mine? They are non-us-citizens and stayed here for 3 months last year. They visit for 6 months every year. Reply In 2007 I had to move my mom and her mobile home on my property because she has vascular dementia and I needed to watch over her. Now she is in her latter stages and we have a full time caregiver living with her. She pays for her caregiver, utilities, food, clothes and medical expenses out of her SSI. I pay for the increase in my land taxes per year, her rent, I take her shopping, to doctors, etc. at my expense and I take care of all her business like paying her bills with her money. I also will take care of her for free from time to time to give the caregiver a break. Besides SSI she receives a small interest income on her checking account. Can I claim her as a dependent on mine and my husband’s income tax return? Reply I care for and live with both my parents, however one of my siblings may already be claiming them as dependents. How can I confirm this without asking them directly? Reply Hi cczoe, if a parent has gross income less than $3,900 (don’t count their social security- unless they filed their own tax return and a portion of the social security was taxable then only count the part not taxed) and you provided more than half of their support (lodging, food, transportation, medical etc.) you can claim them as a dependent on your tax return. If you file your return electronically and the parent’s social security number is on a return already filed, your return will be rejected from electronic filing. Then you know if someone has taken them on their return. Note: If no one has provided more than 50% of a parent’s total support but two or more persons collectively did, then any contributor who provided more than 10% of support, can claim the parent (gross income rule still applies) – those sharing support must agree which of them will claim the exemption and Form 2120 must be signed by all contributors. Hope this answers your question. Lee Lee Note: Reply I cared for my Mother the past 5 years. The last 2 years she received a benefit from VA for her care which is non-taxable. (aid and attendance). She paid me out of her SSI for taking care of her (she could not get VA if she did not pay a caregiver) and she could not care for herself. I was also her guardian. It is all documented. My question is that since she paid me out of her SSI and I paid over half of what I was paid out to the house bills and insurance, am I able to claim her as a dependent? She did not have any earned income. Reply Yes, she’s your dependent. The VA benefit and SSI are irrelevant. Reply My parents live in another country with my brother. I sent some money (51% or more of their support costs) during 2013 and their income is less than $3700. They have been in US just for 25 days during last 4 years. Can I claim them as dependents? Reply No. They did not meet the residency requirement to qualify as dependents. In addition, your parents should be US citizen or green card holder living in the US. Reply You can claim a dependent who is a resident of Mexico or Canada. They would then meet the citizenship test for dependency. And then you could apply for an ITIN for your dependents. You wouldn’t qualify for the head of household status, but you can claim the exemption. Then they have to live in the U.S. for more than 6 months in order to claim them for head of household as long as you can provide proof that you support them. You cannot claim as a dependent a child who lives in a foreign country other than Can ada or Mexico, unless the child is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, or U.S. national. Reply I live withmy son who provides over 51% of my support. I am a widow and my only income is SS which was $21.310.80 after medicare and prescription insurance, for 2013. Can he claim me as a dependent? Thank you Reply Yes Reply I moved my parents into my home 1 1/2 years ago due to their frailty. However, my parents own a home which they have been unable to sell or rent. Can I claim them as dependents if I provide more than 50% of their support in my home but do not pay the taxes or maintenance on their other home? Reply My mother is 87 years old and had her right leg amputated in may of last year. She has also had a stroke. I have had to move her in with me since she can no longer live a lone. She draws a small social security check and a ssi check. Both of them together on make a little over 750 dollars a month. What I need to know is if I claim my mother on my taxes will if affect her medicade. There is no way that I could possible pay for the amount of medication that she has to take. Reply Hi Martha, You claiming your mother as a dependent shouldn’t affect her eligibility for Medicaid. If you claim her you just have to make sure that you provide over half of her support. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply I knew that the medicaid has the family household income limit. If I claim my parent as dependent, will it make her ineligible for medicaid under Obamacare Act as our combined income will surpass the income limit? Hi Lisa, I am on SSDI, I live with my son and he helps support me. Is he able to claim me even thought I get over 2K a month in SSDI? I have searched this forum and cannot seem to find an answer to my question. Both I and my husband are disabled and collect disability checks. We also support my daughter and grandson. They live with us. My daughter is 19 yrs old, so her survivor benefits stopped when she stopped going to school. We pay all living expenses including food and baby food for everyone from our SSDI checks alone. My question is can we file IRS taxes, claiming them both, but not taking the earned income credit. Would we be able to get a refund for my daughter and grandson since they live off our disability. Reply I claim my dad but he is not in the country will that be a problem with the IRS? I am being threated by a family member that they will call the IRS for fraud any suggestions? Reply I already claim my grandson who lives with us. He is 8, disabled, on Medicaid and receives regular SSI. His father, not married to mother, my daughter, lives with us, too. He has no income, I collect no rent or food money from him. He pays his cellphone bill. He lived here the entire year. Can I claim him and not affect my grandson’s money? His money is straight SSI, not disability. I want to claim the father as he pays no bills, rent or groceries, etc. Thanks. Reply Both I and my husband are disabled and collect disability checks. We also support my daughter and grandson. My daughter is 19 yrs old, so her survivor benefits stopped when she stopped going to school. We pay all living expenses including food and baby food for everyone from our SSDI checks alone. My question is can we file IRS taxes, claiming them both, but not taking the earned income credit. Would we be able to get a refund for my daughter and grandson off our 1099-SS forms? Reply Both I and my husband are disabled and collect disability checks. We also support my daughter and grandson. My daughter is 19 yrs old, so her survivor benefits stopped when she stopped going to school. We pay all living expenses including food and baby food for everyone from our SSDI checks alone. My question is can we file IRS taxes, claiming them both, but not taking the earned income credit. Would we be able to get a refund for my daughter and grandson off our 1099-SS forms? Reply Can a parent be claimed if they live in their own home but do not file income tax return and the support is provided by the child? And does it matter if they receive a tax rebate on their own each year? Reply Hi Maryann, must of the credits are based on earn income that’s why you don’t receive a refund. Reply Can my fiance claim his mother if she lives in her own home that she owns free and clear? He does support her but she does get a property rebate from the state every year. Reply I understand the conditions for claiming my 81 year old mother as a dependent, and would qualify to do so. However, I am concerned about unintended consequences. Specifically, if I claim my 81 year old mother as a dependent for tax purposes in 2013, do I obligate my family to take on any other financial responsibility for my mother going forward – e.g., long-term care expenses if such care becomes necessary? Reply My mother in law worked for the first 3 months on 2013, earning roughly $10,000. We’ve been her sole means of support since April 2013. Can we claim her? Reply Your mother in law made over 3,900.00 in 2013 so you can not put her as your dependent. Reply Hi..My mother in law live with me and just got her ssn this year2014..,..I provide everything she need..She doesn’t have any income..Can I claim her as my dependant..Thanks Reply My mom’s Green card application is under review. She lived with me about 10 months in 2013 and I supported her full. She was able to receive her Work authorizationa and Social sercuity number in reference to her Green card application. Can I claim her as my dependent, even though she is not a Green card holder although she stayed for about 10 months in 2013? Appreciate your quick feedback and clarification. Reply My mom is living with me and receiving SSI, Can I claim her as my dependent? Reply yes you can you just have had to pay for support and also make sure your mom does not have other sources of income if she does then their are income restrictions but straight ssi you can claim her. Reply My 38 year old daughter lives in Germany (she is a U.S. citizen residing there.) I support her almost totally. She will not file taxes this year as she has nothing to file. Can I claim her as a dependent? Reply My son claimed me as a dependent on his taxes. Can I still file? Will he get as much as I would have if I filed? All criteria is met for him to claim me. Reply My husband and I have my grandmother living with us and we meet all the requirement to claim her. Were using turbotax. When I enter her information it decreases our tax refund by 1000.00. Why would this happen? I’ve reworked the figures multiple times just to make sure I’m not missing anything and it comes out the same every time. Reply My 89 year old mom lives with me. I know you don’t count her Social Security towards the $3900 per year….but she gets around $500 a month from my dad’s retirement (he’s dead) and some savings accounts and investments she has. These count as income, right? Reply what do we need to do to claim my mother as my dependent, she does not have a social security number and she only have ssi. I heard of itin#,, but not sure if we need to get one for her, and able to claim her as our dependent in my tax return. thanks Reply You can apply for ITIN by filling out W-7 form. You need to attach to your income tax return. On your income tax return you would put her name under dependent list but leave the social security part empty and write PARENT under relationship and you figure all of your tax calculation including her. It would be easier if you go and see professional person. Reply Can I claim both my parents as dependents if they live with me. My mother only receives social security and my dad receives social security and pension from the Texas Retirement System. He is 80 years old and received a 1099R every year since he retired but he has no taxes taken out and has not filed since he retired? I pay all bills and food expenses. Reply My dad earned almost 17k for 2013, i earned 25k, my mom is not working. Can i claim my mom as a dependent. i support them by paying their house rent Reply Can i claim my US citizen parents, if they are not residing in US, and i am supporting them in a different country ( not mexico, canada). They have no income and i usually wire them money for rent and other amenities. Reply I’ve been supporting my in-laws for the past 5 years. They are in their mid to late 60’s, have no social security or savings. Unfortunately, they live overseas. I think it’s so unfair that I cannot claim them as dependents or at least receive some sort of tax deduction for supporting them, especially when it effects my financial situation extremely. I was thinking of creating a petition on Change.org about this situation of having it be required to have your dependents living in the U.S., Canada or Mexico. It doesn’t make sense. Support is SUPPORT. Could you possibly tell me who I can send this petition too? Reply Is income that my mother receives from disability considered taxable income. I am trying to determine if I can file for my mother as a dependent if she receives dissability in addition to the finacial support that I provide for here living expenses while she is living with me. Reply I work under my mom thru ihss for 2months 160 per month, can I claim her on my tax return Reply Can I claim my mother if she owns her home. No mortgage. I pay for all of utilities, food, medication, taxes. She recieves a death benefit of $13,500 yrly from my fathers death (Social Security). Thats about $1,300 mo. Reply Hi Yvonne, If you provide over half of your mother’s support and she does not earn taxable income over $3,900, which her death benefit should not be if she doesn’t have any other income, then you can claim her. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and help you get the deduction for your mother if you’re eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply I feel something needs to be cleared up. I send my diasabled, U.S. citizen, mother $200/month. She collects about $1600/month in SS. No one else sends her money. I provide 100% of her support but only if support does not count SS benefits… Can I get the deduction? I’m 75, retired. worked in US for 11 yrs, received SS $613/mo ($405 for myself and $208 for my wife). my wife is 76, did not work here in US,live in OR state, she’s disabled due to stroke. we both live with our daughter and son-in-law for 11 yrs. can they or our daughter and soninlaw claim us as they’re dependents? Reply How come only Canadian & Mexican parents only? Doesn’t this discriminate against other US citizens who are not from Canada or Mexico? Reply My mother lives with me. She receives a pension in which medical is taken out. Would I have to use the total gross amount or can I use the net amount after medical is taken out. Reply Waiting to see if a can claim her Reply Both my parents began living with me and my wife in mid-2013. My fathers retirement is in excess of the $3800 and is in his name only. They have previously filed joint tax returns. Can I file a tax return for him as married filing separately and then claim my mother as a dependent on our tax return? We provide over 50% of their support. Would not do this if it were to cause him to pay more tax. They have not had a tax liability for several years. They are both 85+ years old. Reply Hi, my mom is on disability, I am her trusty listed at ss disability. I live in Texas and she lives in Georgia. I receive her disability on a card they sent me, wick is$1400.0 per month. I pay all of her other expense from a business account my brother and I own in Georgia. My mom owned the business before she got sick. My brother and I kept it going. Can I claim her on my taxes as a dependant even if she doesn’t live with me or him. We pay her sister to check on her during the year. Reply My mom lives with us and has social security benefits around $11,000 and about a $1000 a year retirement benefit – This is less than the $3900 – I pay the mortgage and utilities so I should be able to claim her. My question is if the irs doesn’t count the social security then it looks like I would only have to provide $1001 support on her to be more than 1/2 of her support for the year. Is this correct? Reply No, it does not work like that – She has a total annual revenue of $11,000 + $1,000 so $12,000 – It depends on where this $12,000 goes, regardless of source. If $6,000 goes towards the support categories above (Food, housing or lodging expenses, clothing, and medical services and/or equipment costs) then you would have to provide $6,001 or more. If only $1,000 is spent by her towards those categories, then you would have to provide $1,001 or more. Seeing as you pay the mortgage and utilities, you should be set anyway. Reply Hi, I am about to finalized my 2013 tax filing. But I want some clarification. My Mom is living with me, no income so I am claiming her as my dependent on my 2013 tax return. She is married to my Dad but they are not living together because my Dad lives outside the country. What should I put when TurboTax ask me if she’s married or single? Thanks! Reply Will claiming a parent as a dependent, who receives SSI benefits reduce the amount they receive monthly? Reply Hi, My father lives with me and made about $3800 in 2013. He started receiving ss about $211 dollars since August 2013. He lives with me I pay all the bills except for his medication. I would like to know if I can claim him as my dependent. He is afraid that if I claim him as my dependent he will loose his retirement. He already filed his income tax for 2013. Reply My Grandmother lived with my parents for the year 2013. They provided housing, food, care and transportation for her. She receives SS and she has a Railroad Pension-she is a widow. Her pension has two tiers that add up to about $14,000 I believe. When we went to see if he was eligible to add her as a dependent it said that her income could not be more than $3900 a year-do you use a formula to figure out taxable income to determine if she made more that $3900 or do you use the amount from the pension form she received in the mail? Reply my mom gets ssi and disability but i still pay half can i claim her Reply Can I claim my mother on my tax return if she has 3000 in income and 695 in disability on her form 1099. Reply Goodmorning, I haven’t worked in seven years and I live with my daughter she pays all my bills buy my medicine, and personal things Ian 43 years old, can she claim me on her taxes this year Reply Hi Angela, If your daughter provided over half of your support, you did not earn more than $3,900, and you meet the citizen requirements, then yes she can claim you. TurboTax will ask her simple questions and give her the tax deductions she’s eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply I can claim my mother as a dependent for 2013, she did not make over $3,900, not married, lives with me in Nevada, I supply more than 51% of living expenses, etc. Now my question is if I do claim her as a dependent, will I be responsible for her health care/insurance that she must get by March 2014? Currently, she has no health care/insurance. Reply Can I claim both parents even if only one is disabled?? We provide support to both. Reply Hi, If you provided over the half the support for both of your parents and they did not earn over $3,900 each then you may claim them as long as they were US citizens, US Nationals, US resident aliens, or residents of Canada or Mexico. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply My mother has not made more than the allowable income for me to claim her as a dependent. However, she sold her house and made a profit from the sell. Would that be considered taxable income? Will I still be able to claim her as a dependent? Reply Hi Mickey, If you sell your personal residence you can sell your home with a gain of $250,000 if your single and $500,000 for married filing jointly without paying taxes on it. Most taxpayers don’t have gains this large so she probably won’t have taxable income. If you provided over half of her support and she meets the other test then you should be able to claim her. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply My father was a us resident alien and he retired in MX. He is 76. he gets his SS check down there, but it is not enough for living. I send him money from USA. Can I claim him as my dependent?? Good afternoon, my mom lives in Mexico and I send her $400 dlls every month for food and bill expenses. Can I claim her as dependant? She is 64 years old. Thanks 🙂 Reply You can only claim her as an exemption. In order to qualify for head of household she must live in the U.S. Reply my mom was in a auto accident in april of 2012 and has not been able to work since. I have been her main support. but in 2012 she made more then 11k in the first 4 months of the year but has made nothing since. can I claim her as a dependent Reply Hi Steven, If you provided over half of her support in 2013 and she didn’t make over $3,900 you can claim her on your 2013 taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Steven, there also is a worksheet for determining dependency support which can be downloaded from the IRS.GOV website. Fill it out accordingly and if you qualify great, but if not, then I would not even try to claim her as a dependent. Reply Hi Lydia and Steven, TurboTax will as you simple questions about you and your dependents and give you all of the credits and deductions you’re eligible for no worksheets necessary. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis My father passed away in Feb. 2013. He was my dependent and I had previously claimed him in my past tax returns. Can I still claim him on my taxes for 2013? Reply Yes you can still claim him. Don’t forget to include date of death. Reply My mother has lived with me rent free since April 2013. I have already determined that she is under the income limit so that I can claim her. Even though she didn’t move in at the beginning of 2013 and didn’t technically live with me for the entire year will I still be able to claim her? Reply Yes you can claim her. A parent is the only individual that doesn’t have to live with you to claim them. But you must provide more than half their support. Reply my daughter and I live together and share all expenses including rent half and half, canshe claim me as a dependent, I receive social security. Reply If my father owes IRS for 2011 but has a hold on it because he is not receiving any income and I have supported him in 2013 if I claim him will I have to pay the IRS what he owes, Thanks Reply No you will not. Reply Im the sole care giver for my dad.. if i file him will i be responsible to pay his back child support? Reply It will be taken out of your refund and if he is in social security they can even deduct the back child support from his social security check Reply No, you are not responsible for your father’s debt. My mother received in 2013 $ 4, 616 from SSI on a monthly basis. I cover for utilities can give her money for other expenses. Can I claim her as Dependent? Reply My mom lives with me — her ONLY source of income in her SOCIAL SECURITY which is less than $7,500 per year — she is 68 years old and I am her primary source of income as I pay for everything — including any out of pocket costs for medicine, mortgage, etc., Am I able to claim her as a dependent? In addition we do have a join mutual fund — but I would assume that this is not considered income. I will be attempting to do my taxes myself this year via turbo tax and I want to make sure I have all the necessary info — as you can see by my questions — I am not a genius when it comes to this stuff — HELP!!!! Reply Can I claim my older son as a dependent? He started receiving SSI last year for his disability. He can’t work and I am his part time caregiver. I have to work outside the home to support us. I do receive most of my deductions back due to a huge business loss my husband and I had. However I lost my husband in 2012 to illness and I am 58 and not old enough to get spousal support on my husbands social security. Reply I claimed my mother as a dependent in my tax returns when she was a resident alien as her income was less than $200 per month. Now she is a US citizen and otherwise medically eligible for disability (SSI). Will my previous claim as my dependent make her ineligible for SSI at this time? Reply Hi! My mother lived with me for 7 months. She has a green card and social security number. She went back to the Philippines for some treatments and will live with me again when she gets back in March. Can I claim her on my tax return? She didn’t work at all. And also, what proof of support do I have turn in? Thank you! Reply My mother lives with me and my husband and our son, She dont work…she cant she is sick. She gets SS off my dad, I pay for every thing food and all. She just pays for her meds and her car note. So we want to no can we take her on our tax…She has been with us two years now. Reply My mom is retired and collects Social Securtiy and lives in a house that I own, would i be able to use her on my taxes as a dependent? Since I cover her lodging. Reply Can some one who is receiving their social security file and carry their child as a dependent. Reply My mother lives with me, she receives SSI, am I able to claim her as a dependent? I am unclear with what is considered earned income. No taxes are taken out of the monthly SSI. Please advise? Reply As long as you can show u provide more than half her support and are single. And its considered income in determining the amount of support she provides for herself. Reply my father in-law lost his job and me and my wife has been supporting them for a year now we pay for everything they and we need can we claim them as a dependent? Reply Can I claim both of my parents this year 2013 ? But I did not change the w4 form for # of dependents on my 2013 form last year Wi I still be ok to claim my parents as my dependents? Thank u Reply The W-4 you fill out has nothing to do with how you file. It just determines the amount of federal taxes withheld. Reply Can I file my mom on my taxes even though she receives Social Security and Disability Income but she lives with me and I provide over half of her support Reply My mother had a massive stroke which left her partially paralyzed. I moved her in withy self and my husband. I quit my job to take care of her. The only income she has is ssi. When my husband does our taxes, will we be able to claim mother? Thanks for your help. Reply Hi Merlinda, You will be able to claim your mother as long as you provided over half of her support and she did not earn morw than $3,900 taxable income. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply TurboTax does not give me the EIC credit for claiming my father. What am I doing wrong? Reply Hi Lisa, You can only receive EITC for your qualifying dependent children and not your father. You can receive a dependency exemption for him if you provided over half of his support and he didn’t make over $3,900 taxable income, but not Earned Income Tax Credit. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply So I am getting this dependency exemption that amounts to nothing? My mother qualifies 66 and disabled lived with me all year and no she has no earned income…shoot I even put my 24 yr old daughter that is in school full time and STILL no change in refund from 0 Lisa, I have already filed yet want to be sure that I did nothing wrong with the IRS. I have claimed my mother as a dependent for the first time. She lives with me and I am head of household. She has not worked for quite some time and has no other form of income. She only gets her SS Check each month. Was there a form that I should have added proving she receives social security? Any info would be most appreciated. I received unemployment for the 2013 year which adds up to around 12K for the year. My son (who lives with me) helped me out with rent, food, bills etc… Can he claim ME on HIS taxes? Reply My mother lived with me jan 2013-september 2013 I provided housing/food for her. She paid 465.00 a month but I believe we paid more than half her expenses. My question is can I claim her? Yes she is a US citizen…I want to know if I can claim her would I have to provide any proof that I paid her food/rent?? I would assume no because who keeps receipts for groceries? I have proof I paid rent and that she lived with me though. Reply HI My mom live in turkey and she cant not work because she is sick she has a hard problem and she has a heard surgery i been paying her house close food medical everything she needs but she is not US citizen and live in Turkey, i send money every month, can i clam her as dependent? Reply Sorry, one of the requirements is that she must be a US citizen. Reply My mom receives Social Security Disability every month ($800 USC). Social Security Disability is her only income, can I claim her in my taxes? Reply I have a mother that lives with me and has not had any sort of income in the last year. Can I claim her as a dependent and if so what kind of estimate amount would I get back for her? Reply I am a Tax Preparer and this area is always confusing to me in regards to gross income and the supporting the person for more than half of their support! I know a client who received $3,850 from his pension. Amazing huh, it is just $50 over! The son and spouse made over $100,000 so definitely pays for more than half of their Dad’s support. So, reading the info above, the Son cannot claim his Dad because of the $50 from the pension. However, the pension is NOT earned income! Please advise! Reply The limit was raised to $3,900 for 2013, so the son should be able to claim his Dad on his 2013 tax return. Note however that the phrase “earned income” in the article is misleading. All taxable income has to be counted, so if the Dad’s pension income in 2013 was $3,900 or more he would not qualify (unless the pension is for some reason tax exempt). Here’s the relevant section from IRS Publication 17, page 33: Gross Income Test To meet this test, a person’s gross income for the year must be less than $3,900. Gross income defined. Gross income is all income in the form of money, property, and services that is not exempt from tax. Reply Earned income defined. Earned income is salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and other amounts received as pay for work you actually perform. Publication 501 (2013) IRS.Gov webpage Janet – you should probably do some research on the irs.gov page before making any big decisions or call the irs hotline. I am sure they will be more accurate in providing you with the information. That is a correct definition of earned income. But the point is that it’s not just earned income that counts toward the $3,900 threshhold. The term the IRS uses for this test is the “gross income test”. Gross income includes all income that’s not specifically exempt from income tax. That includes income from pensions, annuities, interest, dividends, etc. It generally does not include social security benefits, unless those benefits are taxable. I agree that it’s always best to refer to IRS documents to confirm any tax-related information found on this (or any other) web site. As I mentioned previously, the gross income test is explained on page 33 of IRS Publication 17 (Tax Guide for Individuals). It can also be found on pages 19-20 of Publication 501 (Exemptions, Standard Deduction, & Filing Information). “This means that if your parent earns more than $3,800.” Is the $3,800 AGI (after medical bills, etc.)? Reply $3,900 for 2013. Reply I have two questions: First, where can I find information on how to keep records when claiming a parent as a dependent? Second, being very elderly, she no longer has a copy of her birth certificate, but she has a certificate saying the courthouse where the original was kept cannot find it. Is her SSN enough identification? Reply My mother in law receives alimony. Will this be considered earned income and if so does it have to be under the $3800 limit for us to be able to claim her as a dependent? Reply In 2012 tax filing, I claimed my 75 year old mother as my dependent (she received her green card in June 2012). Then in January 2013, she went back to her home country and she will probably come back to US in 2014. My question is, can I still claim her as my dependent for this coming 2013 tax filing considering that she’s currently leaving abroad? I still continue to send her money for her food, housing, and medical expenses. Reply I have a friend who has title to her house with no mortgage and she owns her deceased husbands 401k. She is 51 years old and her two adult children are providing the means for her support including the taxes and utilities on the home. Her husband died of cancer at a young age and she stayed at home and raised all three children on SS payments to the children. The last child has aged out and SS will stop. Both of the adult children live at the home and have professional careers. The teenager (who aged out) lives at the home as well. The 51 year old Mother is also taking care of her two elderly parents at the home. They need to get their Mother health insurance through their employers. Can she be declared a dependent by her adult children? Would the adult children be able to include her in their work health insurance plans? Thank you in advance for your consideration. Dan Z Reply can you be claimed as a dependent if you are receiving disability income? Reply what is the deduction for two parents? Reply “Our daughter failed to provide her 2011 1098-T to be claim on our 2011 tax return. What procedure and forms are required for an amendment of our 2011 tax return?” Reply You would have to amend your return, file a 1040-X and just include the 1098-T, which will give you an education credit. Reply Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Family How Child Support Affects Your Taxes Family What Is a Dependent? An Introductory Guide to Dependents Income Tax by State Utah state income tax in 2025: A guide Deductions and Credits Who Counts as a Dependent for Taxes? 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Hi, I have a question: I paid medical expenses for my mom in India in 2021. She is a Indian citizen and housemaker (no income). She tavelled to US once in 2010 on visitor visa. Can I claim her medical expenses (paid in India) in my tax return for 2021? Pls help. Thx. Reply
Hi Ravindra, Unfortunately, based on the information you provided your mom does not meet the residency requirements to be considered a dependent on your tax return and would not qualify for you to claim the medical expenses you paid for her. Hope this information provides some clarity as you complete your tax return. Sincerely, Katharina Reekmans Reply
My 89 father does not live with me but I claim him as a dependent he also gets SSI. Is this OK? Also, he’s recently received an over payment letter if we send in an over payment waive will I get in trouble for claiming him? Reply
my mom is not working for almost 4 yrs now, no source of income. She is living with me and I support all her needs. Can I claim her as my dependent Reply
Hi Len, Yes, your Mother may qualify under the new “Other Dependent” credit. Turbo Tax makes it easy and will ask simple questions to make sure you get the dependent credit if you are eligible. Thank You, Kasey Ortiz Reply
Of course you can claim her as dependent, I claim my parents as dependents, they dont work and I fully support them. Reply
Can SSI find that a recipient was claimed as a dependent on a relative tax return, even if her benefits are tax-free? Reply
Hi! If a parent has only been a legal resident of the U.S for 2 Month of the year, Can they be claim in the tax as a dependent? Reply
I claimed my mother in law who is unemployed and has been for over 23 years. How much do I make for her? She is demanding a lot for claiming her but I would like to know how much you roughly get for claiming an unemployed in-law. Reply
my mom came here in the US last february 11,2018. shes living with me and not working. can i claim her as dependent? Reply
Hello, Can I claim my parents if they live in their own home which I pay taxes to and I live in my own home. If I can, would I be able to put their home as a deduction as well? Reply
My sister and I equally take care of our parents, Can I claim one and her the other one as a dependent? If they/we meet all the other requirements? Reply
Yes that is covered in the article. Since you have to supply more than 51% of a persons assistance is the only requirement, other than being direct family member. So as long as you meet all other requirements then yes. Each of you would get the same tax break, unless there is substantial medical bills that were shared support. You would have to figure that out with your sister. Reply
My son wants to put me as a dependent on his taxes this would be the first year. We live together as of may of 2017 I stopped working I am 63 now I started rec my social security early in December 2017. I did not work in 2018 he pays most of the bills and food and also any other things I need personally. Reply
Yes, he can claim you. I’m in the same boat with my mom. I take care of her. She collects Social Security only and I have no issues as that is not taxable income. Reply
My mother live with me can I claim her she get Social security and a pension…The pension is about 1000.00 a month Reply
My elderly mom lives with me, which I pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance, as well as any upkeep expenses. My mom provide her own utilities and necessities like food, clothing, etc. also she’s on SSI. She is US citizen. Can I claim her on my tax? Reply
My elderly parents live in my home of which I pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance, as well as any upkeep expenses. They provide their own utilities and necessities like food, clothing, etc. They have only social security income and are on medicare and do not file federal taxes. I do not live in my home with them. I share a home with my fiance and we file taxes separately as single. Can I claim my parents as dependents while also claiming my home expenses? Would this be double dipping? Reply
Both my parents live with me in CA and have $0.00 income. They are on Medi-CAL insurance. May I claim them as dependents on my tax returns? Reply
Hi Suhas, If you provide over half of their support and they meet the citizenship test you should be able to claim them. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and give you the dependent exemptions if you are eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Hi Lisa, My parents and in-laws were visited to me for six months each last year with me from outside USA. And they don’t have SSN. So can I include them as dependents in my Tax Returns???
My mom (an Indian national) lives in India but I take care of all her expenses, can I claim her as a dependent? Reply
Hi, In order to claim her as a dependent she must be a US citizen, US national or a resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico during the year. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and give you the tax deductions you are eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
How can I get the ITIN for my fathers in order to quality as dependents? They are mexicans and live there Thanks Reply
Hi Rodrigo, Your father can apply for an ITIN by using form W-7 and attaching his tax return. Here are some links for more information https://www.irs.gov/individuals/general-itin-information https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-news/the-path-act-and-what-you-need-to-know-about-expiring-itins-24751/ Once he has an ITIN, he can go online and file with TurboTax. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
I am 54 years old i do not work my son live with me can he claim me as a dependent. I have cancer he pays the bills Reply
Hi Theresa — Yes, your son may be able to claim you as his dependent, as long as both of you meet IRS criteria: Relationship: The person lives in your home for the entire year and is considered to be a member of your household. If they don’t live with you, they need to be related to you. Income: Generally, their income is less than $4,000 (not including Social Security and welfare). Support: Generally, you provide more than half the person’s support. Marital status: Generally, a dependent can’t do their taxes with a spouse (married filing jointly). The also can’t be a dependent on someone else’s return. Nationality: The person is a United States citizen; or a resident or national of the U.S., Canada or Mexico. When you son begins his tax return in TurboTax we’ll ask the appropriate questions so he can determine if he can claim you as his dependent. — Joanna Reply
I live with my mom and sister they both receive SSI my sister is totally disabled since she was born. Both of them receive 700 dollars each a month. I help pay the bills and buy the food and items take them to doctors visit, buy medicines. I work and would like to claim both as dependents my sister is totally disabled and she is 52 and they told me she qualifies for the EIC credit can you explain to me what I have to do. Reply
If the requirements state that just being Canadian resident qualifies it, how can they require a social security number if Canada doesn’t use the US SSN. This makes no sense at all … Reply
I take care of my mother yet she lives in a catholic charities home. I shop for her I take her to doctors I handle all her bills I take care of her medications. I take her where she needs to go. she gets SSI and foodstamps. Would I be able to claim her as a dependent? Reply
Hi Lyn, You can claim your mother if: -Your mother is a US Citizen, US National, a resident of Mexico or Canada -She does not provide over half of her own support -She does not receive more than $4,000 taxable income. TurboTax will ask you simple tax questions and help you claim your mother if you are eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
my 22 year old son has his own income full time job doesnt go to school but he lives with us , can I still put him in tax return, we pay all the expenses he just gives me some money for the rent . Reply
So, my mom is about to retired and I want to support her monthly since her paycheck will be less than 500 a month. Can I claim her as a depend so I can get more money to help her finacially and will it affect at the end of the year? Reply
My mom visits from India for 4-5 months every year and I support her when she is back in India, can I claim her as a dependent? She does not have any means of income. Reply
My mother lives with me 24/7. She only receives SSI. I think it’s about $1100-1200/mo. I pay my mortgage/taxes every month which is about $1500/mo. Money she receives go to her minor bills, food, etc. She only pays the electric to help out. Can I claim her as a dependent? Reply
To add onto my previous comment, if I were to claim her as a dependent, would I change my exemptions to 1 or 2? Currently I’m only claiming myself. Reply
So, my mother was laid off last summer. Since then, I’ve provided for her financially. I’m a college student and I work full-time. I live at home with her under housing with a subsided rent of $600 and she gets food stamps for herself. Other than that, I pay all the bills and necessities. Would I be able to claim her as a dependent? She is considered head of household on the housing with myself and my sister. Being that I am 24, I am independent according to my university but my mother takes up a good chunk of my income – Please advice. Thank you Reply
My wifes parents lived with her for the past few years. Both had Residency status and were going for US Citizenship however, due to the harsh weather last year decided to return to their home country at the end of Feb. My wife still sends them close to 85% of their income. I put into TT the 2 months they lived there and checked off that she provided more than half their cost of living. It gave a full 3950 pp deduction which is not what I expected. I would have expected 2/12ths of that. I’m a bit concerned about proceeding with that because it seems wrong. Any advice? Reply
Can I claim my father as a dependent even though he get workers comp payments every month. He doesn’t work due to not having one working arm that he lost at his job in a explosion and he lives with me. Other than his workers comp checks, I’m the one that provides for him. Reply
So, just to clarify my question because it is similar to others. My mom lives with me rent free. She is retired and get social security, but that is it. With that said, does that count as “income” or no? If yes, then I guess I could not claim her, but I don’t think it does. So, if her social security is the only money she gets and I pay for everything else (again, she does not pay rent), then can I claim her next year as a dependent? Reply
If my mother lived with me until June of last year, and I have since been paying her monthly rent(she is on housing so it is only $50 per month) I also send money to her, and pay her phone bills, and she only received $287 a month in general assistance last year. Am I still able to claim her? If so, what type of documentation is needed to do so? Reply
No need for documentation. You can claim your mom. You only need documentation if you’re audited. And that is typically bank statements Reply
My 84 year old mother moved in with us 1/6/15. She get her monthly SS check $1,105. She pays me $550 a month to help out. She has a provider that Medicaid pays for. Do I claim her? Reply
No. If you’re getting paid, you can’t claim her. She is only your dependent if you are paying over $2k a month for her living expenses. Reply
I claimed a parent as a dependent, and met all the requirements needed, however did not receive the refund into my return. Why is that? Reply
Hi Christopher, It could be that someone already claimed them or you had a refund offset for back taxes or outstanding debts like student loans offset from the Treasury department. The IRS should send you a notice explaining the adjustment. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Hi. I am a registered tax professional. I can assure you that whether your parent lives with you or not, if you pay for more than half of all her expenses for the year, you can claim her/or him on your tax return Reply
First time claiming my dad, I meet all the requirements but when I was being processed, it said I needed to be 25 years of age? Why? Reply
Can my son claim me on his taxes if I get disability and it won’t hurt my disability since he lives with me and pays more then half the exspenses Reply
My mother is 76 yrs old. She has COPD and other medical problems and has been unable to work for a few years and cannot drive. She draws Social Security. She has a mortgage and her personal bills (insurance etc.) that she pays. I live with her and pay the electric, water, food, take her to her doctor appointments and I pay for the upkeep on her home (In 2014 I paid over 7000.00 to have her bathroom remodeled as the floor had rotten out). Am I able to get the deduction? Reply
add up her expenses for the year. (mortgage, gas, food, insurance, etc..) take 50% of that. if you paid 50% you can claim her has a dependent. if not, then no. Reply
If my mom is on ssi but welfare doesnt know I live with her can she lose her ssi if I claim her on my taxes for the last three years I need the money to move forward in life but I dont want to take her ssi Reply
If my mom is on ssi but welfare doesnt know I live with her can she lose her ssi if I claim her on my taxes for the last three years Reply
I’m certainly not a tax expert but I do have experience with SSI. If you are providing more than half of your mother’s support (and could prove it in case of an audit) then it appears as if you can claim her as a dependent as long as other requirements are met. You can check these requirements at the IRS site. You didn’t mention whether or not your mother is receiving the maximum SSI benefit per month. If she is (about $733) and you are paying for most of her needs in terms of food and shelter, then she should not be receiving the full amount of SSI. If there are two people in a household, she should be paying her fair share (1/2) of the food and shelter costs.. If she isn’t, then her benefits would be reduced and she might also have to pay back benefits she received in error. She also shouldn’t be receiving money directly from another person.. Apparently there are many people who don’t follow these rules and never get caught. I don’t think claiming her as a dependent would alert the Social Security Dept. as to your arrangement. I guess what you choose to do depends on your tolerance for risk. If you did get audited it would reveal that you are living with your mother, which you are clearly worried about. Again – I’m not a tax expert so do your own research at the IRS and SS sites. Reply
what if i take all the ssi, send parent to a home and pay 100% of that cost. is parent still a dependent?
My parents live with us, they are both retired. They are US immigrants but have never worked here. They refuse to apply for health insurance unless the government provides . Are we going to be taxed if we include them as dependents under the obacare law? Reply
Can I claim my mother if she receives a pension of $209 per month but her gross was $4281 per year because of medical benefits Reply
My mother moved to NM in Oct. 2014 to live with my brother. Two monhs later she had a massive stroke and is now in a nursing home. My brother has been withdrawing and presumably spending her social security checks that are deposited into her checking account each month because he has her check card and pin number. Is that allowed? He says the money shouldn’t be there once her Medicaid kicks in because once that happens *they get all her money* is that true? I think he’ll also be claiming her as a Dependent when he files his income taxes in 2015. Is mom living with him two months long enough for him to do that? She’s not really dependent on him now though he makes all medical decisions for her. He’s more dependent on her because he’s spending her money. I just want mom’s money to be deposited into an account that he can’t touch. She has credit card debt (less than $2000) That he’s made a couple of minimum payments on since this happened. But no savings. She is poor, and has only the SS checks as her income. I feel like my hands are completely tied. Help! Reply
it is true they will keep all of her checks and take whatever she has in the bank. i recommend you take her money and put it in your bank account Reply
The problem is that there is a 3 to 5 year look back period so the government can recoup any money your mother gave you within that time period.
my 71 year old father lives with me and my husband and only has ssi .My husband and i support him and are his caregiver. Do we need to claim his ssi on taxes as income ? Reply
Hi Candice, No you would not claim his social security on your taxes. If he had any other taxable income he would file his taxes separately and include his social security may need to be included depending on his other income, but if he doesn’t have any other income he doesn’t need to file. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
If my mom is on ssi but welfare doesnt know I live with her can she lose her ssi if I claim her on my taxes for the last three years
My mother has been out of work for almost 3 years do to a work injury that disabled her she just started receiving SS disability in December 2014 I support end her for the last 3 years she did get a $20,000 settlement last year bout most of it was to pay off her debt that was built up can I claim her on my taxes if so do I need and paper trail? Reply
I pay a visit each day a few websites and sites to read articles or reviews, however this weeb site provides feature based articles. Reply
I am 56 and am on disability and own the home me and my mother live in and i provide for most the her support. she draws a pension of $500 a month plus her SS. I do not file taxes now would i be able to file and calm her. Reply
My home has been paid off and I’ve been on disability for years my income is not enough to file income tax from what they say. can my son or daughter use my taxes or other expenses as a deduction and if possible how far back are they allowed to go? Reply
Tax Experts: My wife’s parents (she herself is a resident alien) were here earlier this year and met the 183 day prerequisite . They have since gone back to China. Mw wife and I file a joint return. Am I amble to claim them as dependents? They didn’t earn any monies. Thanks, Barry Reply
My mom is a Filipino Citizen and has no income at all. She is currently in Philippines but once lived in the US from 1995- 2006 and worked at Jordan from 2011-2014. Is she eligible? and she is 48 years of age Reply
I moved into my mom’s to support her after she was diagnosed with ALZ and dementia. She only collects social security. I never changed my address to her’s can I claim her as a dependent? Also I pay for her to go to an Adult Day Care while I’m at work is that an deductible expense? Reply
Hi, I want to know if and what I need to be able to claim my mother as a dependant. She is a Mexican citizen but I have had her move in with me since August 2014. She is 55 years old and has no income. I am a US resident and I am working on getting my citizenship and saving enough money to be able to request her residency. Please advise. Thanks. Reply
Can i claim my parents as dependents if im the only source of income in the house hod and pay all the bills . Fpl meds and ect. They both do not have income im their only sourse of income Reply
My mother is 93, legally blind and lives with me. I provide her with food, shelter and transportation and other living expenses. She receives SS only. May I claim her as a dependent? Reply
My mom has lived with me for the past 3 years. She does not work but collects retirement monthly. I’m not sure if that is non-taxable or not?? I’ve never thought about claiming her as a dependent on my taxes until today. She doesn’t collect SS. The house is mine, I pay the mortgage, all of the bills and most groceries. Can I claim her? Or would her retirement need to be under the $3,900? Reply
I claim my parents as dependents on my joint return with my wife. They are US residents for 9 years now, ages 82 and 76. They have no income. They do not qualify for medicare or medicaid and don’t have health insurance. I cannot possibly afford to insure them. Will I have to pay a penalty for them or can I gat an exemption. Reply
Hi TurboTaxLisa! Someone touched on the joint account issue, but I didn’t see a reply. What cap, if any, is there on what assets the dependent parent is holding? What if it’s a joint savings account with me? The worksheet asks for a beginning of the year and end of the year total for the dependents holdings. Do we list one-half of the savings since it’s half mine? Thanks! Reply
My daughter’s grandmother lives with me, with her daughter (my girlfriend), and her granddaughter. I pay for all my girlfriend’s mothers’ support costs, and she is a U.S. citizen who is in this country 10 months per year, making way under $3,900 per year.Can I claim her as a deduction? Meaning, is my daughter’s biological link to her sufficient to fulfill the biological criterion, even though her daughter and I are not married? Reply
I am purchasing a second home in my name for my parents. They are not contributing anything financially for the home. I will also need to make some modifications such as wider doors for wheelchair access and ramp outside to accommodate their needs. Is it better to allow them to live rent free (as planned) or charge them a nominal fee? Plus, am I able to claim my step-father as a dependent (never adopted me) if I cover 51% of his living expenses? Thanks! Reply
my friends mom said that social security is taking 110 dollars a month out of here check indefinatly because he claimed her on his taxes as a dependant…. can that be possible ? doesnt make any sence to me i ve been claiming my dad for 12 years never any thing like this Reply
My mom is on SSI *$724.00/month+she gets $85.00 in food stamps. I provide a lot of financial support for her. Since she is on SSI can I claim her as dependent? What are the qualifications for that? Reply
Hi Irina, As long as she is a US citizen or national, you provided over half of her support, and she did not make over $3,900 taxable income in 2013, $3,950 in 2014, you should be able to claim her. If she has no other income that would be combined with the social security income increasing the total combined income to $25,000, her social security income should not be taxable. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Hi Lisa, I’ve been supporting my parents 100% since October or November 2013. They will be getting their social security numbers and green cards August of this year (2014). Can I claim them for 2014? Thanks in advance.
i have a question If I start recieving payments for ssi in november can my sister file me and my children on her taxes for the year
Hello, If someone could help me with figuring something out for future reference, it would be greatly appreciated. My father SSI, and lives on a fixed income, however, they do not take taxes out of his SS income. But he cares for two of his young grand children in his retirement. So, my question is, that since his income isn’t at the limit in which he has to file taxes, and doesn’t have taxes taken from his monthly payments, can he still file, and get the exemptions for caring for his two grandchildren for 100% of their needs? I’m unsure about it, because they do not take taxes from his monthly SS payments, but he still has dependents supported by that income. Any help in figuring this out would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! 🙂 Reply
Why file? There is no benefit to be had, since no taxes were taken out there will be no tax refund. If there were someone else involved, say a working spouse with earned income, then there would likely be a benefit to filing a tax return. Reply
I care for my parents in India and provide them support for living expenses. Also, we take care of their medical expenses. Can I claim their expenses under mine? They are non-us-citizens and stayed here for 3 months last year. They visit for 6 months every year. Reply
In 2007 I had to move my mom and her mobile home on my property because she has vascular dementia and I needed to watch over her. Now she is in her latter stages and we have a full time caregiver living with her. She pays for her caregiver, utilities, food, clothes and medical expenses out of her SSI. I pay for the increase in my land taxes per year, her rent, I take her shopping, to doctors, etc. at my expense and I take care of all her business like paying her bills with her money. I also will take care of her for free from time to time to give the caregiver a break. Besides SSI she receives a small interest income on her checking account. Can I claim her as a dependent on mine and my husband’s income tax return? Reply
I care for and live with both my parents, however one of my siblings may already be claiming them as dependents. How can I confirm this without asking them directly? Reply
Hi cczoe, if a parent has gross income less than $3,900 (don’t count their social security- unless they filed their own tax return and a portion of the social security was taxable then only count the part not taxed) and you provided more than half of their support (lodging, food, transportation, medical etc.) you can claim them as a dependent on your tax return. If you file your return electronically and the parent’s social security number is on a return already filed, your return will be rejected from electronic filing. Then you know if someone has taken them on their return. Note: If no one has provided more than 50% of a parent’s total support but two or more persons collectively did, then any contributor who provided more than 10% of support, can claim the parent (gross income rule still applies) – those sharing support must agree which of them will claim the exemption and Form 2120 must be signed by all contributors. Hope this answers your question. Lee Lee Note: Reply
I cared for my Mother the past 5 years. The last 2 years she received a benefit from VA for her care which is non-taxable. (aid and attendance). She paid me out of her SSI for taking care of her (she could not get VA if she did not pay a caregiver) and she could not care for herself. I was also her guardian. It is all documented. My question is that since she paid me out of her SSI and I paid over half of what I was paid out to the house bills and insurance, am I able to claim her as a dependent? She did not have any earned income. Reply
My parents live in another country with my brother. I sent some money (51% or more of their support costs) during 2013 and their income is less than $3700. They have been in US just for 25 days during last 4 years. Can I claim them as dependents? Reply
No. They did not meet the residency requirement to qualify as dependents. In addition, your parents should be US citizen or green card holder living in the US. Reply
You can claim a dependent who is a resident of Mexico or Canada. They would then meet the citizenship test for dependency. And then you could apply for an ITIN for your dependents. You wouldn’t qualify for the head of household status, but you can claim the exemption. Then they have to live in the U.S. for more than 6 months in order to claim them for head of household as long as you can provide proof that you support them. You cannot claim as a dependent a child who lives in a foreign country other than Can ada or Mexico, unless the child is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, or U.S. national. Reply
I live withmy son who provides over 51% of my support. I am a widow and my only income is SS which was $21.310.80 after medicare and prescription insurance, for 2013. Can he claim me as a dependent? Thank you Reply
I moved my parents into my home 1 1/2 years ago due to their frailty. However, my parents own a home which they have been unable to sell or rent. Can I claim them as dependents if I provide more than 50% of their support in my home but do not pay the taxes or maintenance on their other home? Reply
My mother is 87 years old and had her right leg amputated in may of last year. She has also had a stroke. I have had to move her in with me since she can no longer live a lone. She draws a small social security check and a ssi check. Both of them together on make a little over 750 dollars a month. What I need to know is if I claim my mother on my taxes will if affect her medicade. There is no way that I could possible pay for the amount of medication that she has to take. Reply
Hi Martha, You claiming your mother as a dependent shouldn’t affect her eligibility for Medicaid. If you claim her you just have to make sure that you provide over half of her support. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
I knew that the medicaid has the family household income limit. If I claim my parent as dependent, will it make her ineligible for medicaid under Obamacare Act as our combined income will surpass the income limit?
Hi Lisa, I am on SSDI, I live with my son and he helps support me. Is he able to claim me even thought I get over 2K a month in SSDI?
I have searched this forum and cannot seem to find an answer to my question. Both I and my husband are disabled and collect disability checks. We also support my daughter and grandson. They live with us. My daughter is 19 yrs old, so her survivor benefits stopped when she stopped going to school. We pay all living expenses including food and baby food for everyone from our SSDI checks alone. My question is can we file IRS taxes, claiming them both, but not taking the earned income credit. Would we be able to get a refund for my daughter and grandson since they live off our disability. Reply
I claim my dad but he is not in the country will that be a problem with the IRS? I am being threated by a family member that they will call the IRS for fraud any suggestions? Reply
I already claim my grandson who lives with us. He is 8, disabled, on Medicaid and receives regular SSI. His father, not married to mother, my daughter, lives with us, too. He has no income, I collect no rent or food money from him. He pays his cellphone bill. He lived here the entire year. Can I claim him and not affect my grandson’s money? His money is straight SSI, not disability. I want to claim the father as he pays no bills, rent or groceries, etc. Thanks. Reply
Both I and my husband are disabled and collect disability checks. We also support my daughter and grandson. My daughter is 19 yrs old, so her survivor benefits stopped when she stopped going to school. We pay all living expenses including food and baby food for everyone from our SSDI checks alone. My question is can we file IRS taxes, claiming them both, but not taking the earned income credit. Would we be able to get a refund for my daughter and grandson off our 1099-SS forms? Reply
Both I and my husband are disabled and collect disability checks. We also support my daughter and grandson. My daughter is 19 yrs old, so her survivor benefits stopped when she stopped going to school. We pay all living expenses including food and baby food for everyone from our SSDI checks alone. My question is can we file IRS taxes, claiming them both, but not taking the earned income credit. Would we be able to get a refund for my daughter and grandson off our 1099-SS forms? Reply
Can a parent be claimed if they live in their own home but do not file income tax return and the support is provided by the child? And does it matter if they receive a tax rebate on their own each year? Reply
Hi Maryann, must of the credits are based on earn income that’s why you don’t receive a refund. Reply
Can my fiance claim his mother if she lives in her own home that she owns free and clear? He does support her but she does get a property rebate from the state every year. Reply
I understand the conditions for claiming my 81 year old mother as a dependent, and would qualify to do so. However, I am concerned about unintended consequences. Specifically, if I claim my 81 year old mother as a dependent for tax purposes in 2013, do I obligate my family to take on any other financial responsibility for my mother going forward – e.g., long-term care expenses if such care becomes necessary? Reply
My mother in law worked for the first 3 months on 2013, earning roughly $10,000. We’ve been her sole means of support since April 2013. Can we claim her? Reply
Hi..My mother in law live with me and just got her ssn this year2014..,..I provide everything she need..She doesn’t have any income..Can I claim her as my dependant..Thanks Reply
My mom’s Green card application is under review. She lived with me about 10 months in 2013 and I supported her full. She was able to receive her Work authorizationa and Social sercuity number in reference to her Green card application. Can I claim her as my dependent, even though she is not a Green card holder although she stayed for about 10 months in 2013? Appreciate your quick feedback and clarification. Reply
yes you can you just have had to pay for support and also make sure your mom does not have other sources of income if she does then their are income restrictions but straight ssi you can claim her. Reply
My 38 year old daughter lives in Germany (she is a U.S. citizen residing there.) I support her almost totally. She will not file taxes this year as she has nothing to file. Can I claim her as a dependent? Reply
My son claimed me as a dependent on his taxes. Can I still file? Will he get as much as I would have if I filed? All criteria is met for him to claim me. Reply
My husband and I have my grandmother living with us and we meet all the requirement to claim her. Were using turbotax. When I enter her information it decreases our tax refund by 1000.00. Why would this happen? I’ve reworked the figures multiple times just to make sure I’m not missing anything and it comes out the same every time. Reply
My 89 year old mom lives with me. I know you don’t count her Social Security towards the $3900 per year….but she gets around $500 a month from my dad’s retirement (he’s dead) and some savings accounts and investments she has. These count as income, right? Reply
what do we need to do to claim my mother as my dependent, she does not have a social security number and she only have ssi. I heard of itin#,, but not sure if we need to get one for her, and able to claim her as our dependent in my tax return. thanks Reply
You can apply for ITIN by filling out W-7 form. You need to attach to your income tax return. On your income tax return you would put her name under dependent list but leave the social security part empty and write PARENT under relationship and you figure all of your tax calculation including her. It would be easier if you go and see professional person. Reply
Can I claim both my parents as dependents if they live with me. My mother only receives social security and my dad receives social security and pension from the Texas Retirement System. He is 80 years old and received a 1099R every year since he retired but he has no taxes taken out and has not filed since he retired? I pay all bills and food expenses. Reply
My dad earned almost 17k for 2013, i earned 25k, my mom is not working. Can i claim my mom as a dependent. i support them by paying their house rent Reply
Can i claim my US citizen parents, if they are not residing in US, and i am supporting them in a different country ( not mexico, canada). They have no income and i usually wire them money for rent and other amenities. Reply
I’ve been supporting my in-laws for the past 5 years. They are in their mid to late 60’s, have no social security or savings. Unfortunately, they live overseas. I think it’s so unfair that I cannot claim them as dependents or at least receive some sort of tax deduction for supporting them, especially when it effects my financial situation extremely. I was thinking of creating a petition on Change.org about this situation of having it be required to have your dependents living in the U.S., Canada or Mexico. It doesn’t make sense. Support is SUPPORT. Could you possibly tell me who I can send this petition too? Reply
Is income that my mother receives from disability considered taxable income. I am trying to determine if I can file for my mother as a dependent if she receives dissability in addition to the finacial support that I provide for here living expenses while she is living with me. Reply
Can I claim my mother if she owns her home. No mortgage. I pay for all of utilities, food, medication, taxes. She recieves a death benefit of $13,500 yrly from my fathers death (Social Security). Thats about $1,300 mo. Reply
Hi Yvonne, If you provide over half of your mother’s support and she does not earn taxable income over $3,900, which her death benefit should not be if she doesn’t have any other income, then you can claim her. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and help you get the deduction for your mother if you’re eligible. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
I feel something needs to be cleared up. I send my diasabled, U.S. citizen, mother $200/month. She collects about $1600/month in SS. No one else sends her money. I provide 100% of her support but only if support does not count SS benefits… Can I get the deduction?
I’m 75, retired. worked in US for 11 yrs, received SS $613/mo ($405 for myself and $208 for my wife). my wife is 76, did not work here in US,live in OR state, she’s disabled due to stroke. we both live with our daughter and son-in-law for 11 yrs. can they or our daughter and soninlaw claim us as they’re dependents? Reply
How come only Canadian & Mexican parents only? Doesn’t this discriminate against other US citizens who are not from Canada or Mexico? Reply
My mother lives with me. She receives a pension in which medical is taken out. Would I have to use the total gross amount or can I use the net amount after medical is taken out. Reply
Both my parents began living with me and my wife in mid-2013. My fathers retirement is in excess of the $3800 and is in his name only. They have previously filed joint tax returns. Can I file a tax return for him as married filing separately and then claim my mother as a dependent on our tax return? We provide over 50% of their support. Would not do this if it were to cause him to pay more tax. They have not had a tax liability for several years. They are both 85+ years old. Reply
Hi, my mom is on disability, I am her trusty listed at ss disability. I live in Texas and she lives in Georgia. I receive her disability on a card they sent me, wick is$1400.0 per month. I pay all of her other expense from a business account my brother and I own in Georgia. My mom owned the business before she got sick. My brother and I kept it going. Can I claim her on my taxes as a dependant even if she doesn’t live with me or him. We pay her sister to check on her during the year. Reply
My mom lives with us and has social security benefits around $11,000 and about a $1000 a year retirement benefit – This is less than the $3900 – I pay the mortgage and utilities so I should be able to claim her. My question is if the irs doesn’t count the social security then it looks like I would only have to provide $1001 support on her to be more than 1/2 of her support for the year. Is this correct? Reply
No, it does not work like that – She has a total annual revenue of $11,000 + $1,000 so $12,000 – It depends on where this $12,000 goes, regardless of source. If $6,000 goes towards the support categories above (Food, housing or lodging expenses, clothing, and medical services and/or equipment costs) then you would have to provide $6,001 or more. If only $1,000 is spent by her towards those categories, then you would have to provide $1,001 or more. Seeing as you pay the mortgage and utilities, you should be set anyway. Reply
Hi, I am about to finalized my 2013 tax filing. But I want some clarification. My Mom is living with me, no income so I am claiming her as my dependent on my 2013 tax return. She is married to my Dad but they are not living together because my Dad lives outside the country. What should I put when TurboTax ask me if she’s married or single? Thanks! Reply
Will claiming a parent as a dependent, who receives SSI benefits reduce the amount they receive monthly? Reply
Hi, My father lives with me and made about $3800 in 2013. He started receiving ss about $211 dollars since August 2013. He lives with me I pay all the bills except for his medication. I would like to know if I can claim him as my dependent. He is afraid that if I claim him as my dependent he will loose his retirement. He already filed his income tax for 2013. Reply
My Grandmother lived with my parents for the year 2013. They provided housing, food, care and transportation for her. She receives SS and she has a Railroad Pension-she is a widow. Her pension has two tiers that add up to about $14,000 I believe. When we went to see if he was eligible to add her as a dependent it said that her income could not be more than $3900 a year-do you use a formula to figure out taxable income to determine if she made more that $3900 or do you use the amount from the pension form she received in the mail? Reply
Can I claim my mother on my tax return if she has 3000 in income and 695 in disability on her form 1099. Reply
Goodmorning, I haven’t worked in seven years and I live with my daughter she pays all my bills buy my medicine, and personal things Ian 43 years old, can she claim me on her taxes this year Reply
Hi Angela, If your daughter provided over half of your support, you did not earn more than $3,900, and you meet the citizen requirements, then yes she can claim you. TurboTax will ask her simple questions and give her the tax deductions she’s eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
I can claim my mother as a dependent for 2013, she did not make over $3,900, not married, lives with me in Nevada, I supply more than 51% of living expenses, etc. Now my question is if I do claim her as a dependent, will I be responsible for her health care/insurance that she must get by March 2014? Currently, she has no health care/insurance. Reply
Hi, If you provided over the half the support for both of your parents and they did not earn over $3,900 each then you may claim them as long as they were US citizens, US Nationals, US resident aliens, or residents of Canada or Mexico. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
My mother has not made more than the allowable income for me to claim her as a dependent. However, she sold her house and made a profit from the sell. Would that be considered taxable income? Will I still be able to claim her as a dependent? Reply
Hi Mickey, If you sell your personal residence you can sell your home with a gain of $250,000 if your single and $500,000 for married filing jointly without paying taxes on it. Most taxpayers don’t have gains this large so she probably won’t have taxable income. If you provided over half of her support and she meets the other test then you should be able to claim her. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
My father was a us resident alien and he retired in MX. He is 76. he gets his SS check down there, but it is not enough for living. I send him money from USA. Can I claim him as my dependent??
Good afternoon, my mom lives in Mexico and I send her $400 dlls every month for food and bill expenses. Can I claim her as dependant? She is 64 years old. Thanks 🙂 Reply
You can only claim her as an exemption. In order to qualify for head of household she must live in the U.S. Reply
my mom was in a auto accident in april of 2012 and has not been able to work since. I have been her main support. but in 2012 she made more then 11k in the first 4 months of the year but has made nothing since. can I claim her as a dependent Reply
Hi Steven, If you provided over half of her support in 2013 and she didn’t make over $3,900 you can claim her on your 2013 taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Steven, there also is a worksheet for determining dependency support which can be downloaded from the IRS.GOV website. Fill it out accordingly and if you qualify great, but if not, then I would not even try to claim her as a dependent. Reply
Hi Lydia and Steven, TurboTax will as you simple questions about you and your dependents and give you all of the credits and deductions you’re eligible for no worksheets necessary. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
My father passed away in Feb. 2013. He was my dependent and I had previously claimed him in my past tax returns. Can I still claim him on my taxes for 2013? Reply
My mother has lived with me rent free since April 2013. I have already determined that she is under the income limit so that I can claim her. Even though she didn’t move in at the beginning of 2013 and didn’t technically live with me for the entire year will I still be able to claim her? Reply
Yes you can claim her. A parent is the only individual that doesn’t have to live with you to claim them. But you must provide more than half their support. Reply
my daughter and I live together and share all expenses including rent half and half, canshe claim me as a dependent, I receive social security. Reply
If my father owes IRS for 2011 but has a hold on it because he is not receiving any income and I have supported him in 2013 if I claim him will I have to pay the IRS what he owes, Thanks Reply
Im the sole care giver for my dad.. if i file him will i be responsible to pay his back child support? Reply
It will be taken out of your refund and if he is in social security they can even deduct the back child support from his social security check Reply
My mother received in 2013 $ 4, 616 from SSI on a monthly basis. I cover for utilities can give her money for other expenses. Can I claim her as Dependent? Reply
My mom lives with me — her ONLY source of income in her SOCIAL SECURITY which is less than $7,500 per year — she is 68 years old and I am her primary source of income as I pay for everything — including any out of pocket costs for medicine, mortgage, etc., Am I able to claim her as a dependent? In addition we do have a join mutual fund — but I would assume that this is not considered income. I will be attempting to do my taxes myself this year via turbo tax and I want to make sure I have all the necessary info — as you can see by my questions — I am not a genius when it comes to this stuff — HELP!!!! Reply
Can I claim my older son as a dependent? He started receiving SSI last year for his disability. He can’t work and I am his part time caregiver. I have to work outside the home to support us. I do receive most of my deductions back due to a huge business loss my husband and I had. However I lost my husband in 2012 to illness and I am 58 and not old enough to get spousal support on my husbands social security. Reply
I claimed my mother as a dependent in my tax returns when she was a resident alien as her income was less than $200 per month. Now she is a US citizen and otherwise medically eligible for disability (SSI). Will my previous claim as my dependent make her ineligible for SSI at this time? Reply
Hi! My mother lived with me for 7 months. She has a green card and social security number. She went back to the Philippines for some treatments and will live with me again when she gets back in March. Can I claim her on my tax return? She didn’t work at all. And also, what proof of support do I have turn in? Thank you! Reply
My mother lives with me and my husband and our son, She dont work…she cant she is sick. She gets SS off my dad, I pay for every thing food and all. She just pays for her meds and her car note. So we want to no can we take her on our tax…She has been with us two years now. Reply
My mom is retired and collects Social Securtiy and lives in a house that I own, would i be able to use her on my taxes as a dependent? Since I cover her lodging. Reply
My mother lives with me, she receives SSI, am I able to claim her as a dependent? I am unclear with what is considered earned income. No taxes are taken out of the monthly SSI. Please advise? Reply
As long as you can show u provide more than half her support and are single. And its considered income in determining the amount of support she provides for herself. Reply
my father in-law lost his job and me and my wife has been supporting them for a year now we pay for everything they and we need can we claim them as a dependent? Reply
Can I claim both of my parents this year 2013 ? But I did not change the w4 form for # of dependents on my 2013 form last year Wi I still be ok to claim my parents as my dependents? Thank u Reply
The W-4 you fill out has nothing to do with how you file. It just determines the amount of federal taxes withheld. Reply
Can I file my mom on my taxes even though she receives Social Security and Disability Income but she lives with me and I provide over half of her support Reply
My mother had a massive stroke which left her partially paralyzed. I moved her in withy self and my husband. I quit my job to take care of her. The only income she has is ssi. When my husband does our taxes, will we be able to claim mother? Thanks for your help. Reply
Hi Merlinda, You will be able to claim your mother as long as you provided over half of her support and she did not earn morw than $3,900 taxable income. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Hi Lisa, You can only receive EITC for your qualifying dependent children and not your father. You can receive a dependency exemption for him if you provided over half of his support and he didn’t make over $3,900 taxable income, but not Earned Income Tax Credit. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
So I am getting this dependency exemption that amounts to nothing? My mother qualifies 66 and disabled lived with me all year and no she has no earned income…shoot I even put my 24 yr old daughter that is in school full time and STILL no change in refund from 0
Lisa, I have already filed yet want to be sure that I did nothing wrong with the IRS. I have claimed my mother as a dependent for the first time. She lives with me and I am head of household. She has not worked for quite some time and has no other form of income. She only gets her SS Check each month. Was there a form that I should have added proving she receives social security? Any info would be most appreciated.
I received unemployment for the 2013 year which adds up to around 12K for the year. My son (who lives with me) helped me out with rent, food, bills etc… Can he claim ME on HIS taxes? Reply
My mother lived with me jan 2013-september 2013 I provided housing/food for her. She paid 465.00 a month but I believe we paid more than half her expenses. My question is can I claim her? Yes she is a US citizen…I want to know if I can claim her would I have to provide any proof that I paid her food/rent?? I would assume no because who keeps receipts for groceries? I have proof I paid rent and that she lived with me though. Reply
HI My mom live in turkey and she cant not work because she is sick she has a hard problem and she has a heard surgery i been paying her house close food medical everything she needs but she is not US citizen and live in Turkey, i send money every month, can i clam her as dependent? Reply
My mom receives Social Security Disability every month ($800 USC). Social Security Disability is her only income, can I claim her in my taxes? Reply
I have a mother that lives with me and has not had any sort of income in the last year. Can I claim her as a dependent and if so what kind of estimate amount would I get back for her? Reply
I am a Tax Preparer and this area is always confusing to me in regards to gross income and the supporting the person for more than half of their support! I know a client who received $3,850 from his pension. Amazing huh, it is just $50 over! The son and spouse made over $100,000 so definitely pays for more than half of their Dad’s support. So, reading the info above, the Son cannot claim his Dad because of the $50 from the pension. However, the pension is NOT earned income! Please advise! Reply
The limit was raised to $3,900 for 2013, so the son should be able to claim his Dad on his 2013 tax return. Note however that the phrase “earned income” in the article is misleading. All taxable income has to be counted, so if the Dad’s pension income in 2013 was $3,900 or more he would not qualify (unless the pension is for some reason tax exempt). Here’s the relevant section from IRS Publication 17, page 33: Gross Income Test To meet this test, a person’s gross income for the year must be less than $3,900. Gross income defined. Gross income is all income in the form of money, property, and services that is not exempt from tax. Reply
Earned income defined. Earned income is salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and other amounts received as pay for work you actually perform. Publication 501 (2013) IRS.Gov webpage Janet – you should probably do some research on the irs.gov page before making any big decisions or call the irs hotline. I am sure they will be more accurate in providing you with the information.
That is a correct definition of earned income. But the point is that it’s not just earned income that counts toward the $3,900 threshhold. The term the IRS uses for this test is the “gross income test”. Gross income includes all income that’s not specifically exempt from income tax. That includes income from pensions, annuities, interest, dividends, etc. It generally does not include social security benefits, unless those benefits are taxable. I agree that it’s always best to refer to IRS documents to confirm any tax-related information found on this (or any other) web site. As I mentioned previously, the gross income test is explained on page 33 of IRS Publication 17 (Tax Guide for Individuals). It can also be found on pages 19-20 of Publication 501 (Exemptions, Standard Deduction, & Filing Information).
“This means that if your parent earns more than $3,800.” Is the $3,800 AGI (after medical bills, etc.)? Reply
I have two questions: First, where can I find information on how to keep records when claiming a parent as a dependent? Second, being very elderly, she no longer has a copy of her birth certificate, but she has a certificate saying the courthouse where the original was kept cannot find it. Is her SSN enough identification? Reply
My mother in law receives alimony. Will this be considered earned income and if so does it have to be under the $3800 limit for us to be able to claim her as a dependent? Reply
In 2012 tax filing, I claimed my 75 year old mother as my dependent (she received her green card in June 2012). Then in January 2013, she went back to her home country and she will probably come back to US in 2014. My question is, can I still claim her as my dependent for this coming 2013 tax filing considering that she’s currently leaving abroad? I still continue to send her money for her food, housing, and medical expenses. Reply
I have a friend who has title to her house with no mortgage and she owns her deceased husbands 401k. She is 51 years old and her two adult children are providing the means for her support including the taxes and utilities on the home. Her husband died of cancer at a young age and she stayed at home and raised all three children on SS payments to the children. The last child has aged out and SS will stop. Both of the adult children live at the home and have professional careers. The teenager (who aged out) lives at the home as well. The 51 year old Mother is also taking care of her two elderly parents at the home. They need to get their Mother health insurance through their employers. Can she be declared a dependent by her adult children? Would the adult children be able to include her in their work health insurance plans? Thank you in advance for your consideration. Dan Z Reply
“Our daughter failed to provide her 2011 1098-T to be claim on our 2011 tax return. What procedure and forms are required for an amendment of our 2011 tax return?” Reply
You would have to amend your return, file a 1040-X and just include the 1098-T, which will give you an education credit. Reply