My mother received railroad retirement benefit as a beneficiary. Can I claim her as a dependent on my taxes?

[Phillip1 · Accepted solution]

Possibly. The social security equivalent of railroad retirement benefits is not counted in the income test for qualifying relative dependents. If she meets the following requirements, she will qualify as your dependents:

The rules are as follows:

1. Not a Qualifying Child - One of the first requirements for qualifying child is a certain, defined relationship. Aunt is not a qualifying relationship to be a qualifying child dependent. Therefore she would pass this test.
2. Member of Household or Relationship Test - To meet this test, the individual must meet one of the following:
1. Live with you all year as a member of your household, or
2. Be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who don't have to live with you .
3. Gross Income Test - She cannot have more than 4,050 dollars of income. This doesn’t include social security income. If social security income is all she receives, she would pass this test.

Support Test - You would need to provide more than half of her support. Fill out worksheet 2 on page 16 of IRS Publication 501 to make sure you meet this requirement.

[shane_110]

She completed her state taxes for 2016 and listed $9,600.