Probably Not. Welfare is support you didn't provide. It may be necessary to do the support calculation to get an answer.
A person can still be a Qualifying
relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child**, if he meets the 6 tests for
claiming a dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live
with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 (2016)
3. The taxpayer must have
provided more than 1/2 his support
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada
or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint
return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the
qualifying child of another taxpayer
Government benefits doesn't count as income, for the income test, but that money does count as support not provided by you, for
the support test.
The IRS has a worksheet that
can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf The support
value of a home is the fair market rental value, divided by the number of
occupants.
**If she is under age 19, or under age 24 and a full time student, different (qualifying child) dependent rules apply and welfare isn't as important.
