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Level 1
February 2, 2022
Question

Can I add daughter as dependent if I pay half house payment, pay for her car, including insurance and recreational expenses

  • February 2, 2022
  • 2 replies
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Daughter stared work two months ago. She only pays for her phone and electric bill, I pay rent, car, insurance, etc. Can I claim her as a dependent? She has two children.

2 replies

Level 15
February 2, 2022

We do not have enough information.    If your daughter was not a full-time student in 2021 and had over $4300 of income in 2021 you cannot claim her as a dependent.   We do not know about her children since we do not know if you paid for over half their support in 2021.

 

 

 

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
Hal_Al
Level 15
Level 15
February 2, 2022

Although it sounds like you provide more than half her support, that, alone. is not enough to qualify her as your dependent.  There are other dependent rules to be met.  Her children further complicate the issue, as a dependent can not claim dependents of her own. 

 

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

The support test is different for each type. The support test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.

See full dependent rules at: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Return/INF12139.html

 

Her children could also be your dependents, but (and this is a big but) if they did not live with you, you can not claim them for the $3000/3600 Child Tax Credit (or the Earned Income Credit) only the measly $500 other dependent credit.