topic Dependents in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Dependents

LeonelR — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:18:32 GMT

Claiming dependents while living in Mexico and working in the US.

Re: Dependents

Esther M — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 23:30:35 GMT

Hello

I assume you mean you're living and working in the US but your dependents are in Mexico. The rule is, you can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2021 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

They're related to you.
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
- No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply). Does a Dependent have to live with me?
They made less than $4,300 in 2021.
You provided more than half of their financial support. What does "financially support another person" mean? As you go through the My Info section in TurboTax, we'll ask a series of questions to determine if somebody qualifies as your dependent.

Re: Dependents

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 23:49:08 GMT

Hello @LeonelR

Thank you for participating in this event.

As I understand your dependent lives in Mexico and you want to know if you can claim them on your US tax return as a dependent while you are working and living in the US.

You can claim a dependent if they are either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative on your tax return.

Requirements for a qualifying child are:

They're related to you.
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
- No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Requirements for a Qualifying relative are:

They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
They made less than $4,300 in 2021.
You provided more than half of their financial support.

Both these credits also require the dependent has a valid social security number. And the requirement they must have lived with you , at least half year for qualifying child and entire year for qualifying relative.

In your situation, with the limited information you provided, it does seem to meet the requirements for either of those credits.

Re: Dependents

SuziM — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 16:37:10 GMT

Thanks for your participation in our Ask the Expert event regarding "How does the Child Tax Credit and Dependent Care Credit impact this year's tax return for you?"! We’d love to get your input on the event and your TurboTax experience: Click here to leave a video testimonial.