- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Get your taxes done using TurboTax
Probably Not. Welfare is support you didn't provide. It may be necessary to do the support calculation to get an answer.
A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child**, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 (2016)
3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer
Government benefits doesn't count as income, for the income test, but that money does count as support not provided by you, for
the support test.
The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf The support value of a home is the fair market rental value, divided by the number of occupants.
**If she is under age 19, or under age 24 and a full time student, different (qualifying child) dependent rules apply and welfare isn't as important.