Claiming parents as dependents on taxes

[cfont88]

Can I claim my parents if they are married; my dad gets VA disability, a small pension of 427/mo that he doesn't pay taxes on (I believe he already paid taxes when he paid into it when he was working), and they both get SSI? I pay for all the bills in the house and the living arrangements. They do not make enough to file federal or state taxes by the way.

[DoninGA]

You may be able to claim them as dependents under the Qualifying Relative rules if their income is less than $4,700, you provide over one-half of their support and they do not file a tax return as Married Filing Jointly.

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,700 (social security does not count) in 2023
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

[cfont88]

I know about the 4700.00 But is that per person or for both of them? They do not make enough, and are not required to file taxes, as they do not file state or federal. The pension is my stepfather's which equals to 5124.00 a year. My mother does not have a pension.

[DoninGA]

@cfont88  The $4,700 is per person.  So if your father has income $4,700 or more you cannot claim him as a dependent.  If your mother does not have income then you can claim her as your dependent.

[Critter-3]

That rule is per person not per couple.