When filing taxes each year, many taxpayers look for ways to lower their taxable income and get money back from the government. One way to do this is to claim dependents – people who rely on you financially and whom you support. While dependents like children or elderly parents can reduce your taxes owed, there are rules about who qualifies as a dependent and who does not.
Basic Dependent Requirements
In order to claim someone as a dependent on your tax return, they must meet certain criteria set by the IRS. Here are the basic requirements for a qualifying dependent:
- The person cannot have provided more than half of their own financial support during the tax year.
- The person must have lived with you for more than half of the tax year.
- The person must be related to you in some way (child, parent, sibling, etc.) or have lived with you all year as a member of your household.
- The person must be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident alien of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.
- The person cannot file a joint tax return with their spouse (if married).
If the person you are claiming fails to meet any of these requirements, they do not qualify as your dependent. Next, we’ll look at some specific examples of individuals who cannot be claimed.
Adult Children
Once your children reach age 19 (or 24 if a full-time student), they can no longer automatically be claimed as dependents – even if you still provide financial support. After this age, your children must pass the dependent qualification tests if you want to continue claiming them. Typically, this means they cannot provide more than half of their own support with things like jobs, savings, investments, or grants/scholarships.
For example, if your 22-year-old college student makes $15,000 at a part-time job and you provide $10,000 for school, housing, food, etc., you cannot claim this child because they provide over half of their own support. However, if you provide $16,000+ in support while they earn under $8,000, you may be able to claim them if they meet the other tests.
Non-U.S. Citizens
To claim someone as a dependent, they must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident alien, or resident of Canada or Mexico. If you support someone who does not have one of these statuses, you cannot claim them as a dependent.
For example, if you house and feed an exchange student from France all year, you cannot claim them on your return because they do not have a required residency status. The only exception is if they are married and file a joint return with a spouse who does have U.S. status.
Married Dependents
Generally, you cannot claim a married person as a dependent if they file a joint tax return with their spouse. Even if you provide most of the financial support for your married child or parent, the fact that they jointly file negates your ability to claim them.
However, there is an exception if the married person you support did not actually file a return. For instance, if your daughter got married but only worked part-time while you paid her rent and bills, and she did not file a return, you may still be able to claim her if she meets the other tests.
High-Income Dependents
To qualify as your dependent, a person cannot have a gross income over the exemption amount ($4,300 for 2022). So even if you provide more than half of the support for your brother, for example, you cannot claim him if he earned over $4,300.
However, some sources of income like Social Security benefits, tax exempt interest, and excluded foreign income do not count toward this limit. So verify which types of income apply before assuming someone exceeds the income limit.
Former Spouses
Once you are divorced or legally separated, your former spouse no longer qualifies as your dependent. This applies even if you paid spousal support (alimony) during the year.
For example, if you paid all your ex-wife’s living expenses in 2022 per a divorce decree, you cannot claim her as a dependent because she is an ex-spouse, regardless of the financial support you provided.
Dependent of Another Taxpayer
You cannot claim someone who is already listed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s return. Typically this applies to children of divorced parents – only one parent can claim the child each year as a dependent.
For instance, if you and your ex-spouse share custody of a child, the parent who has physical custody for more nights in the year gets to claim the child. Or you may alternate years claiming the dependent. But you cannot both claim the child in the same year.
Non-Resident Household Members
To claim a person as a dependent who is not related to you (like a roommate), they must have lived with you all year as part of your household. If someone only lived with you for part of the year, you cannot claim them unless they are related to you.
For example, if your girlfriend stayed with you for only 5 months of the year before moving out, you cannot claim her as a qualifying dependent because she did not live with you as a member of your household for the full 12 months of the tax year.
Elderly Parents
As your parents age and require financial assistance, you may end up providing more than half of their support. However, you still cannot claim elderly parents as dependents if they do not meet all the qualification tests.
For instance, if your 75-year-old mom lives alone in another state but you pay her rent, medical bills, groceries, etc., you cannot claim her if she earned over the income limit from Social Security benefits or other sources of income.
Other Relatives
You cannot claim relatives who do not live with you all year as part of your household. The exception is certain direct relatives like a child, stepchild, eligible foster child, sibling, stepsibling, parent, grandparent, etc.
For example, if you provide financial support for an aunt, cousin, niece, nephew, etc. you cannot claim them as dependents since they do not meet the relationship requirement. They would have needed to live with you all year.
Friends
Friends and roommates cannot qualify as dependents unless they lived with you as part of your household the full year. Providing financial support is not enough – they must meet the residency test.
For example, if a friend lost their job and you let them move in and paid their bills for 9 months until they got back on their feet, you cannot claim them since they did not live with you the full 12 months of the year.
Other Taxpayers
You cannot claim someone else who files their own tax return and is not your spouse. The exception would be a married person who files jointly with their spouse – their spouse may be able to claim them if they provide over half of their support.
For instance, if you support your boyfriend financially but he files his own tax return as single, you cannot claim him as a dependent. However, if he were your spouse and filed jointly, you could potentially claim him.
Multiple Support Agreements
If two or more people together provide more than half of someone’s financial support, they can agree to let one of them claim the person as a dependent using IRS Form 2120. This is called a multiple support agreement.
For example, if siblings collectively provide over 50% support for a parent, but no one sibling provides over 50% alone, they can agree to let one sibling claim the parent as a dependent.
Qualifying Relative Dependents
A qualifying relative dependent is someone who is related to you in some way or lived with you all year who meets certain tests. You cannot claim someone who fails these tests.
For example, your cousin stayed with you for 6 months of the year while looking for a job. You cannot claim them as either a qualifying child or relative dependent because they fail both the relationship and residency tests.
Qualifying Child Dependents
A qualifying child dependent must meet relationship, residency, age, and support tests. Children usually meet these, but you cannot claim someone who fails the tests.
For instance, your 23-year-old nephew stayed with you for 3 months while between jobs. You cannot claim him as a qualifying child dependent because he fails the residency and age requirements.
Non-Family Members
Someone who is not related to you in one of the specified ways under IRS rules cannot be claimed as a dependent unless they lived with you as part of your household all year long.
For example, you let your friend stay with you for several months and paid their living expenses. Since they are not related and did not reside with you for the full year, you cannot claim them as your dependent.
Household Employees
You cannot claim someone who works for you in or around your home as a dependent. Things like maids, babysitters, gardeners, and personal care aides cannot qualify, even if you provide financial support.
For instance, if you pay all the living expenses for a live-in nanny, you cannot list them as a dependent since they are a household employee. They would fail both the income and relationship tests for qualifying dependents.
Deceased Individuals
You cannot claim someone who died during the tax year as a dependent, even if you provided most of their support before they passed away.
For example, if your spouse died in August 2022 but you paid all their living expenses up until then, you cannot claim them as a dependent since they were deceased before the end of the tax year.
Non-Resident Aliens
An alien is someone who is not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. Dependents must be U.S. citizens or nationals, resident aliens, or residents of Canada or Mexico.
For instance, if you supported your parent who lives in Germany and is not a U.S. national, you cannot claim them as a dependent since they are a non-resident alien.
Income Thresholds
Depending on your filing status, there are income thresholds above which you cannot claim certain dependents. This is true regardless of financial support you provided.
For example, if you file your taxes as single and earned $200,000, you cannot claim any dependents for the child tax credit or credit for other dependents since your income exceeds the threshold.
Certain Non-Citizens
Certain non-U.S. citizens cannot be claimed, even if legally living in the U.S. These include foreign students on an F1, J1, M1 or Q1 visa.
For instance, if you hosted a foreign exchange student in your home who had a J1 visa, you cannot claim them since their residency status does not qualify for the dependent exemption.
Emancipated Children
Children who are legally considered emancipated by a court, due to marriage, active military duty, or court order cannot be claimed as dependents.
For example, if your child enlisted in the military at 17, they are legally emancipated and cannot be claimed on your return, even if you financially supported them up until their enlistment.
Non-Family Member Failing Residency Test
Again, someone unrelated to you who did not live in your home as part of your household for the full year cannot be claimed as a dependent.
For instance, your girlfriend only lived with you for part of the tax year before you broke up. Since she is not related and failed the residency test, she does not qualify to be claimed on your tax return.
Filer of Joint Return
You cannot claim someone as a dependent if they file a joint return with a spouse, unless that spouse itemizes and claims them.
For example, if your daughter is married and files a joint return with her husband who claims her as a dependent, you cannot also claim her since she filed a joint return.
Caregivers
If you pay someone to provide care, like a nursing aide for an elderly parent, you cannot claim that caregiver as a dependent regardless of financial support.
For instance, you hired an in-home nurse for your mother. Even if you pay all the nurse’s living expenses, they do not qualify because they were hired help, not a household member.
Distant Relatives and Non-Relatives
Again, the relatives and non-relatives who fail the relationship, residency, or joint return tests cannot be claimed as dependents.
For example, your wife’s uncle whom you paid to live in a nursing home cannot be claimed since he fails both the relationship and residency tests to qualify as your dependent.
Illegal Immigrants
Someone residing illegally in the U.S. without a taxpayer identification number cannot be claimed as a dependent.
For instance, if you supported your grandparents who overstayed their visa, you cannot claim them on your taxes since they are not legal residents and do not have a taxpayer ID.
Permanently Disabled People
A person who is permanently disabled or unable to care for themselves is only able to be claimed as a dependent if they comply with all other tests.
For example, if your disabled adult child earned too high of an income from investments you set up for them, they cannot be claimed even if you financially supported them.
Non-U.S. Citizen Children
Children must reside legally in the U.S., Canada or Mexico and have a taxpayer identification number to be claimed as dependents.
For instance, if you adopt a child from another country who does not have U.S. resident status, you cannot claim them as a dependent until they gain legal status and receive a taxpayer ID number.
Other Dependents Claimed
You cannot claim someone who is already claimed by another taxpayer.
For example, if your parents live with your sister, who provides over half their support and claims them as dependents, you cannot also claim your parents on your tax return.
Income Exceeding Threshold
Again, certain income thresholds apply both for the taxpayer claiming someone and the dependent themselves. If gross income exceeds these thresholds, the person cannot be claimed.
For instance, if your mother had earned income of $5,000 but you only provided $4,000 in support, you cannot claim her because her income exceeds the dependent threshold.
Other Issues Disqualifying Dependents
Some other issues that prevent someone from qualifying as a dependent include:
- Being incarcerated
- Filing as married filing separately
- Being a non-resident alien on certain visa types like F, J, M or Q
- Being claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return
- Not having a valid taxpayer identification number
Ultimately, the dependent person, relationship, residency, income, support, tax return filing status, citizenship status, and other eligibility factors all need to be reviewed to determine if someone qualifies as your dependent or not.
Conclusion
Claiming dependents can provide tax savings, but only if the individuals meet IRS requirements. Make sure any person passes all the qualifying dependent tests before listing them on your return to avoid issues or penalties. Consult the official guidelines or a tax professional if you are unsure if someone qualifies.