Qualifying Relative

Rongalla · ‎March 15, 2025

My adult daughter lives with me, has no income but receives National Health Care and EBT food assistance. Can I claim her as a qualifying relative dependent?

The rules are a vague. Thanks

Vanessa A

National Healthcare and EBT do not count as income so it does not apply to the $5,050 income limit. They would however count as support. However, if the only thing someone else is providing for her is food and medical, if this does not consist of over half of her support, and YOU are the one providing for OVER half of her support, then you would still be able to claim her as a dependent. You can use this worksheet to determine if you are providing over half of her support.

Also, if she is permanently and totally disabled, then the rule goes to she just cannot provide over half of her own support as she could then be considered a qualifying child regardless of her age. In that case, since she has no income, as long as she lived with you for over 6 months, and is not married filing a joint return you would be able to claim her as a dependent.

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DoninGA

You should be able to claim her as your dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules.

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 $5,050 (social security does not count) in 2024
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 with the following exception -
You can claim a person as a dependent who files a joint return if that person and that person’s spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.

Go to this IRS website for a Support Worksheet - https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf