Here are the IRS's Rules for Claiming an Exemption for a Dependent
Table 3-1. Overview of the Rules for Claiming an
Exemption for a Dependent
Caution. This table is only an overview of
the rules. For details, see the rest of this chapter.
- You can’t claim any
dependents if you (or your spouse, if filing jointly) could be claimed
as a dependent by another taxpayer.
- You can’t claim a married
person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return
is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax
paid.
- You can’t 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.1
- You can’t claim a person
as a dependent unless that person is your qualifying
child or qualifying
relative.
Tests To Be a Qualifying Child
Tests To Be a Qualifying Relative
- The child must
be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half
brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of
them.
- The child must be (a) under
age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if
filing jointly), (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a student, and
younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), or (c) any age if
permanently and totally disabled.
- The child must have lived
with you for more than half of the year.
- The child must not have
provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
- The child must not be
filing a joint return for the year (unless that return is filed only to
get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid).
If the child meets
the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, only one person
can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. See Qualifying Child of More Than One Person to
find out which person is the person entitled to claim the child as a
qualifying child.
- The person
can’t be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other
taxpayer.
- The person either (a) must
be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives
who don’t have to live with you , or (b) must live with you all year as a
member of your household2 (and your relationship must not violate
local law).
- The person's gross income
for the year must be less than $4,050.
- You must provide more than
half of the person's total support for the year.
If meets the above tests it's important that, when he files his return he indicates that someone else is claiming him as a dependent. Otherwise your tax return will have to be "paper filed" delaying any potential refund by weeks.
