Qualifying Relative As a Dependent

Member of Household or Relationship Test

To meet the qualifying relative test, a person must either:

• Live with you all year as a member of your household.
  • A person is considered to live in the taxpayer’s home as a member of he household even if he or she is temporarily absent due to vacation, school business, illness, or military service.
  • A person who died during the tax year, but lived in the taxpayer’s home as a member of the household until death also qualifies.
  • A dependent born during the year who becomes a member of the household immediately after birth is considered a member of the household for the entire year.
• Be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives Who Do Not Live with You in the immediately following paragraph.

If at any time during the year the person was your spouse, that person cannot be your qualifying relative.

Relatives Who Do Not Live With You

A person related to you in any of the following ways does not have to live with you all year as a member of your household to meet this test:

• Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild).  Note, that a legally adopted child is considered your child.
• Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.
• Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
• Your stepfather or stepmother.
• A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
• A brother or sister of your father or mother.
• Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.

Any of these relationships that were established by marriage are not ended by death or divorce.

Gross Income Limitation

The relative’s gross income for the year must be less than $4,300 in 2020. Gross income includes all income in the form of money, property and services that is not exempt from tax, such as receipts from rental property, a partner’s share of gross partnership income and unemployment compensation.

• First determine the total support provided for that person. Total support includes amounts spent to provide food, lodging, clothing, education, medical, dental, insurance, transportation and similar necessities. Expenses that are not directly related to one member of a household must be divided among members of the household. Items that are not included in total support include: the person’s own funds which are not actually spent for support, federal state and local income taxes paid by persons from their own income, social security and medicare taxes paid by persons from their own income, life insurance premiums, funeral expenses, scholarships received by a taxpayer’s child if the child is a full time student.

Dependent Taxpayer Test

A person is not a qualifying relative of a taxpayer if that person meets the requirements for being a qualifying child of any other taxpayer.  But if the other taxpayer is not required to file a return for the year or only files a return solely for a refund claim, then the child is not a qualifying child of the other taxpayer.

If you could be claimed as a dependent by another person, you cannot claim anyone else as a dependent. Even if you have a qualifying child or qualifying relative, you cannot claim that person as a dependent.

Joint Return Test

A taxpayer generally cannot claim a married person as a dependent if he or she files a joint return.

Citizen or Resident Alien, Etc. Test

A taxpayer cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

Example:  Jane lives with her boyfriend throughout the 2013 year.  She has income far less than $3,900 in 2013.  Her boyfriend earns $25,000 and provides more than 1/2 of her support.  Jane can be claimed as a qualifying relative by her boyfriend.