Can I claim my mother as a dependent again, even if she received unemployment last year?

[ear1h_sc7b]

I claimed my mother as my dependent last time, but last year she received unemployment for a short time and had taxes taken out from it. Can I still claim her, or does she have to file separately?

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

If she had over $4300 of any other income besides Social Security she cannot be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's tax return.    So better take a look at her 1099G and see how much unemployment she received.   

Whether you can claim her or not, if she had tax withheld from her unemployment she can file her own tax return to seek a refund.   Although unemployment is fully taxable for 2021 she might have made too little overall and could get a refund.   If it turns out she made under $4300 and you can claim her, then she must say on her return that she can be claimed as someone else's dependent.

[ear1h_sc7b]

That helps a lot! Thank you!