Tax Tips

So Dependent On You: Who Can I Claim as a Dependents on my 2009 Tax Return?

Written by TurboTaxBlogTeam
Published Mar 29, 2010 - [Updated Jun 12, 2019]
5 min read

Over the past few years, questions around who can claim who and why has dramatically changed. There are more blended families in the U.S. The economy has taken a toll on our bottom lines resulting in three or four generations of families living together to save money. And yes, even non-family members moving in with each other to save a buck.

So how do those changes affect your tax situation? Can you claim your girlfriend on your taxes? What about your son who lives with your mother? And of course, pets. Can you claim Buster the beagle on your taxes? I sat down with Lee Ferris, one of our in-house tax experts and asked her those same questions.

The question and answer session aims to explain some of the more common dependent questions so you can get your biggest refund possible.

Question: Can someone claim their girlfriend or boyfriend on their taxes?

Answer: If your girlfriend has lived with you for all of 2009, her gross income is less than $3,650, and you’ve provided more than half of her total support (which is room board, food, car, insurance, etc.), you could claim her as a dependent on your tax return. To determine if you pay for more than half of her support, see IRS Pub 501 page 20. Each dependent you claim on your 2009 tax return reduces your taxable income by up to $3,650.

Question: What if we have a child, can I claim the baby also?

Answer: If the baby is your child, lived with you for more than half the year, and can’t support itself, you can claim the child as your dependent. And I know you are thinking, ‘Of course my baby can’t support itself.’ This was a-recent change by the IRS and a good example is if you have a child that is an actor. That child might be receiving a decent income and that counts as supporting itself.

But for all those parents with non-actor children out there, you can claim a child under the age of 19. If the child is a full-time student then you can claim them until the age of 24. If they are 25, working on their master’s degree and not earning any income you might be able to claim what the IRS calls a “qualified relative.” I would recommend visiting the IRS link to get more info on what defines the qualified relative and qualified child.

Question: My sister lives with me, and she receives Social Security Disability Benefits. If I charge her rent – which gets paid with social security – can I claim her as a dependent on my tax return?

Answer: If you are providing more than half of her total support (taking into consideration the rent she’s paying you) and she doesn’t make more than $3,650 a year, you can most likely claim her. Remember her social security isn’t counted as gross income. Look at the IRS worksheet in pub 501 to get more information on this.

Question: Can I claim any of my pets? What if they require special needs?

Answer: No. But I have been reading about a bill in Congress that is making the rounds that allows people to deduct pet medical expenses up to $3,500. The bill is proposed by Republican Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan. I am not sure what will happen with this but it is worth paying attention to.

Q: My parents just moved in with us so that we can take care of them. Can I claim them?

Answer: This is a common question right now because of the economy. If they are living with you, their only source of income is social security, and you are supporting them by more than 50 percent, you can claim them as a qualified relative. Remember, social security doesn’t count towards their gross income. Also, remember that since they are qualified relatives, they don’t have to live with you. You could be supporting them in their own home and still claim them as dependents.

Question: Can I still claim my spouse even though she received unemployment the majority of the year?

Answer: Even if your spouse is a stay-at-home mom, you can’t claim her as a dependent. This is why I encourage you to file a joint return. That way you get $3,650 for you and $3,650 for your spouse as a write-off – also known as an exemption. So 99 percent of the time it is more beneficial to file jointly because of that write-off amount and other deductions and credits.

However, one of my top questions this year is “Is unemployment taxable?” And the answer is, the first $2,400 of unemployment is NOT taxable. If both spouses receive unemployment benefits during 2009, each may exclude from taxable income the first $2,400 of benefits they received.

Question: I have been supporting my grandchild for the past six months and paid for everything. Do I claim her or does my daughter?

Answer: It depends. There are some questions you need to answer first. Will the father claim the child on his return? Is your daughter going to claim the child? If the child has lived with you for more than six months, both the father and your daughter are not going to claim the child , then yes, you can probably claim your granddaughter as a qualified child and get the various child credits on your tax return.

Question: Can I claim my niece if she is here on a student visa, going to college, and living with us? She makes no money here, pays no rent to us and we support all her expenses, except for tuition.

Answer: In this case, if she is under 24 and a full-time student and she’s not a qualifying child for anyone else, you can probably claim her as a dependent. But I like to urge people to please ensure that someone else is not already claiming the person in question as a dependent. Your niece can’t be claimed more than once. Also you can only claim the niece as a dependent if she’s a U.S citizen, U.S. resident, U.S. National, or resident of Canada or Mexico.

For questions we haven’t covered, please check out the IRS.gov page. The site has updated sample situations to help U.S. filers.

Check out this TurboTax video as well:

http://www.youtube.com/v/sbD8BfZzs8s?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

227 responses to “So Dependent On You: Who Can I Claim as a Dependents on my 2009 Tax Return?”

Shell says:

March 5, 2013 at 4:57 pm

Can my son that is 20 claim his child on his taxes? The child lives his girlfriend and her mother. Her mother is on disability and is saying he can claim him. This was also the case last year and he tried to claim him but the IRS would not let him. All they said was that the childs SS number belonged to someone else. Don’t understand wehat that meant. So his taxes were adjusted down.

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Pamela says:

February 28, 2013 at 7:47 am

My ex and I have two children and we’ve never had a custody agreement. I have the kids primarily and he goes months without seeing them. He doesnt pay any type of child support or help out at all. Does he have any grounds to claim the two kids this year?

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- TurboTax KarenL says:
  
  March 1, 2013 at 8:45 am
  
  Hi Pamela – Based on what you said, it seems as though you, as the custodial parent would qualify to claim the children. Determining if someone can be claimed as a dependent can be quite complex. In general, since you don’t have an Agreement in place, in order for your Ex to claim them, they would need to live with them over half the year, and he would have to pay over half of their support. Please see page 8 of IRS Publication 504 for details and more information. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p504.pdf Thanks, Karen
  
  Reply
dol says:

February 25, 2013 at 12:22 pm

Can you claim two family members that you care for who receive ssi and they are unable to work? The only income they have is SSI

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Les says:

February 18, 2013 at 10:57 am

My son and I are living in a family friends home.We receive state help (snap/med) as I am not working and go to school. Can the head of household claim us? They do help out here and there, personal items, clothing, mostly for my son. We live rent free in their home and pay no bills. Only agreement we have is that I keep in school and or be looking for work. Can they/he claim us since we receive state help?

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- TurboTaxChristopherT says:
  
  February 20, 2013 at 5:50 am
  
  Hi Les – There are several requirements to claim a non-relative as a dependent. This link has the details: http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/go/GEN12426 –Christopher
  
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esteban says:

February 16, 2013 at 6:00 pm

I share joint custody 50-50 and i work and pay child support. my efile got rejected because someone claimed my kids. the mother of my kids is on welfare and doesnt work. can her mother the kids grandmother claim the kids over me. i have the kids half the time and pay my child support.

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- TurboTaxChristopherT says:
  
  February 18, 2013 at 1:56 pm
  
  Hi Esteban – Probably not. In any case, you will need to file a paper copy of your return; you will not be able to efile now. When the IRS sees that two different taxpayers have claimed the children, they will investigate and decide who is entitled to claim them. The taxpayer who was not eligible will have their taxes adjusted accordingly — possibly with penalties and interest. –Christopher
  
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  - esteban says:
    
    February 18, 2013 at 8:12 pm
    
    ok so my kids mother is on welfare but lives with her mother (grandmother) in tha same home. THE KIDs grandmother works only part time and they depend on my kids welfare and foodstamps and child support. i have the kids then same amount of time 50-50 and the kids mother doesnt go to school nor work. i go to work and pay taxes including child support. who gets to claim the kids on income tax time. me the father or the kids grandmother who obviously use the kids welfare to pay rent and the kids food stamps to buy groceries. i have the kids the same amount of time work full time and pay child support. so who is entittled to claim the kids in the income tax?
- esteban says:
  
  February 18, 2013 at 8:16 pm
  
  ok so my kids mother is on welfare but lives with her mother (grandmother) in tha same home. THE KIDs grandmother works only part time and they depend on my kids welfare and foodstamps and child support. i have the kids then same amount of time 50-50 and the kids mother doesnt go to school nor work. i go to work and pay taxes including child support. who gets to claim the kids on income tax time. me the father or the kids grandmother who obviously use the kids welfare to pay rent and the kids food stamps to buy groceries. i have the kids the same amount of time work full time and pay child support. so who is entittled to claim the kids in the income tax?
  
  Reply
Peggy says:

February 13, 2013 at 2:55 pm

I had court ordered legal custody of my granddaughter from Oct 2011 to Oct 2012 – can I claim her as a dependent for 2012? She lived with us until Oct 10, 2012 and we paid all her expenses.

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- TurboTax KarenL says:
  
  February 15, 2013 at 12:05 pm
  
  Hi Peggy – The IRS rules don’t always follow court orders, unfortunately. And, custody isn’t the same as being allowed a dependent exemption on your taxes. That said, I would recommend you go through the interview questions in Turbo Tax to see if you qualify. The software does a great job at determining who qualifies as a dependent. And, this link may help as well:
  Who is a Dependent?
  http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/About-your-Dependents/Who-Is-A-Dependent-/GEN12426.html Best to you, Karen
  
  Reply
Cortney says:

February 13, 2013 at 2:02 pm

Hi, My brother has been living with me since June of 2011. He has a job, but I pay everything as bills and food wise and he uses my vehicle. Would I be able to claim him when I do my taxes. He is 19 years old and I am 24 years old. Thank you

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- Cortney says:
  
  February 13, 2013 at 2:03 pm
  
  I ment June 2012 sorry.
  
  Reply
- TurboTax KarenL says:
  
  February 15, 2013 at 12:08 pm
  
  Hi Cortney – I would suggest going through the interview in the Personal Info section, as Turbo Tax does an excellent job with determining who qualifies as a dependent. Some of the basic rules include that more than half his or her support is from you…and he had less than $3,800 of income for the entire year. (Generally that amount does not include Social Security benefits.) This link may help as well: Who is a Dependent?
  http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/iq/About-your-Dependents/Who-Is-A-Dependent-/GEN12426.html Thanks, Karen
  
  Reply
Krystle says:

February 12, 2013 at 3:23 pm

Hi, my mother, younger brother, and I are living together. I have a full time job. My mother receives a disability check for my brother every month and child support every week. She has no other income at this time. Can I claim both of them on my taxes?

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lb says:

February 12, 2013 at 9:17 am

HI i was wondering, me and my wife are seperated but not legally and get ssi can i still claim her on my taxes e have five children too.and she draws foodstamps too….thankk you

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lee says:

February 12, 2013 at 8:56 am

Hi I was wondering if i could claim my wife on my taxes if we are seperated but ot ligelly and she draws SSI and we have five children

Reply