Other dependent credit for parents living in mexico

[muneca2006]

My husband and I are filing joint return and added his parents as our dependents but we are not receiving the other dependent credit. Why could that be? They are citizen/residents of Mexico, lived there all year, but we are supporting them 100% and they have an ITIN, but turbo tax is saying they are disqualified for this credit. I thought it didnt matter if parents werent living with you to receive the credit?

[NCperson]

was their income BELOW $4200? 

if you answer 'no' to this question, that may be the issue, 

you can run your scenario through the IRS interactive tool as that should help. 

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent

[Rick23slash]

Hello, I'm having the exact same issue. 

Is there any update on this? Please help.

Thank you.

[MaryK4]

Dependents that qualify for the Credit for Other Dependents must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien.

@Rick23slash

[DoninGA]

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@Rick23slash wrote:

Hello, I'm having the exact same issue. 

Is there any update on this? Please help.

Thank you.

---

To claim someone as a dependent on a tax return they must have either a US Social Security number or an ITIN issued by the IRS.  If these are your parents, then you may be able to claim them on your tax return under the Qualifying Relative rules if they meet all the requirements.

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 $4,200 (social security does not count) in 2019
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.

[AmeliesUncle]

As Mary pointed out, in order to claim the "Other Dependent Credit" (up to $500), the dependent needs to be a US Citizen, Resident, or National.

So even though the person in Mexico may qualify as your Dependent (see Don's response about a "Qualifying Relative"), the person does not qualify for the "Other Dependent Credit" unless they are a US Citizen, Resident, or National.

[NCperson]

Folks - I think there is a lot of misinformation on this thread..... 

First, @MaryK4,note in @DoninGA post he correctly states that the person must be a US citizen, resident alien or nation OR a resident of Canada or Mexico.  So you could be eligible if you were not a US citizen but lived in Mexico or Canada

here are the rules from Publication 4012, page C-3 though C-5 (they have a nice flow chart there) and match @DoninGA 's commentary

the general rules to be a Qualifying Relative are:

• person must be related to you, but don't have to live with you
• Gross income must be less than $4200 (excluding social security)
• Must provide at least 50% of the support of the parents. 

Specific Rules: 

• Can't be claimed on anyone else's tax return
• Can't be filing a married - joint return themselves
• Was a US citizen, resident alien or US national OR a resident of Canada or Mexico

The scenario I ran through the IRS help tool was a parent who was living in Mexico, had a ITIN, gross income under $4200, was a parent of a US taxpayer where the taxpayers were supporting the parents by more than 50%, did not live with the parents, and the parent was not filing a joint US tax return and was not being claimed by anyone else. 

I also was able to easily add a parent as a qualifying relative in the desktop version of TT.  So either there is a bug in the online version of TT or one of the questions is not being answered correctly 

[AmeliesUncle]

@NCperson   The question was asking about the "Other Dependent Credit", not whether or not they could claim the person as a dependent.  They have different rules.

So yes, a Citizen or Resident of Mexico and Canada can qualify as a Dependent.  But that dependent does NOT qualify for the $500 "Other Dependent Credit".  That requires the dependent to be a US Citizen, Resident, or National.

[NCperson]

then I wonder if  there is a bug in TT / desktop - I'd encourage others to replicate it as well.

TT asks in a drop down box if the relative (in this case a parent) is a) US citizen or legal resident b) resident of Canada or Mexico, c) neither

if you answer a) or b) you get the $500 tax credit.  If you answer c), you don't get the tax credit. 

[AmeliesUncle]

Interesting, because "b" should NOT be giving the credit.  But the OP seems to be not getting the credit.  Maybe a difference between the Online version and Desktop version???

[NCperson]

I contacted TT and had it recorded as a 'bug' 

[NCperson]

@Rick23slash  is your relative a) a US citizen living in Mexico or b) a non-US citizen living in Mexico?

there is no credit for b).....only a). 

[Rick23slash]

• Hello. My relatives are my parents and they're are (b) Non citizens living in Mexico, they each have ITINS so I believe then they dont qualify as "Other dependent".

Thank you.