Ukrainian parolees U4U UHP Dependents

[ccjil]

Hello. My sister and her niece arrived in the US on U4U program on August 30, 2024. They've been living with me the entire time and will continue living with me through the remainder of 2025. I provide their full support (>50%).  My sister is unemployed and will be going to school/college here. She is not filing any tax returns for 2024 given she didn't receive any income. Her daughter is 6 years old and nobody will be claiming her or my sister as a dependent on other tax returns. Can I claim my niece as a dependent for 2024 tax year? The question boils down to can I use the first year choice election for my niece to be treated as a US resident to satisfy the residency requirement from the dependent perspective? If yes, will it be prorated given that it's dual status for 2024? Thank you! 

[Vanessa A]

No.  You cannot use first years choice to claim your niece.  First year choice is for someone who is married to a US Citizen or resident alien as of Dec 31 of the tax year.   Someone who is single is specifically excluded from making this choice.   This is also for the taxpayer, not someone to be claimed as a dependent. 

"Choosing Resident Alien Status If you are a dual-status alien, you can choose to be treated as a U.S. resident for the entire year if all of the following apply. 

 You were a nonresident alien at the beginning of the year. 

 You are a resident alien or U.S. citizen at the end of the year. 

 You are married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of the year. 

Your spouse joins you in making the choice. 

This includes situations in which both you and your spouse were nonresident aliens at the beginning of the tax year and both of you are resident aliens at the end of the tax year. 

Note. If you are single at the end of the year, you cannot make this choice. If you make this choice, the following rules apply. 

You and your spouse are treated as U.S. residents for the entire year for income tax purposes. 

You and your spouse are taxed on worldwide income. 

 You and your spouse must file a joint return for the year of the choice. 

Neither you nor your spouse can make this choice for any later tax year, even if you are separated, divorced, or remarried. The special instructions and restrictions for dual-status taxpayers in chapter 6 do not apply to you." Page 12 Pub 519

[ccjil]

Thank you for your reply. based on the publication it says the following where you do not have to be married. Can you please clarify? Thanks! 

First-Year Choice
If you do not meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for 2023 or 2024 and you did not
choose to be treated as a resident for part of 2023, but
you meet the substantial presence test for 2025, you can
choose to be treated as a U.S. resident for part of 2024. To
make this choice, you must:
1. Be present in the United States for at least 31 days in
a row in 2024, and
2. Be present in the United States for at least 75% of the
number of days beginning with the first day of the
31-day period and ending with the last day of 2024.
For purposes of this 75% requirement, you can treat
up to 5 days of absence from the United States as
days of presence in the United States.
When counting the days of presence in (1) and (2)
above, do not count the days you were in the United
States under any of the exceptions discussed earlier under Days of Presence in the United States.
If you make the first-year choice, your residency starting date for 2024 is the first day of the earliest 31-day period (described in (1) above) that you use to qualify for the
choice. You are treated as a U.S. resident for the rest of
the year. If you are present for more than one 31-day period and you satisfy condition (2) above for each of those
periods, your residency starting date is the first day of the
first 31-day period. If you are present for more than one
31-day period but you satisfy condition (2) above only for
a later 31-day period, your residency starting date is the
first day of the later 31-day period.
Note. You do not have to be married to make this
choice.

[DaveF1006]

The first-year choice doesn't apply to dependents, just to a spouse. !! Your sister and niece do not qualify to be your dependent in 2024 but will qualify in 2025 if they continue to live with you.

Be sure to get Social Security Numbers for your sister and niece so you can file electronically in 2025.

@ccjil