Claiming a non-resident parent as a dependent

[fkhalilz]

Hello,

I'd like to know if I can claim my mother as a dependent. Here are some information about the situation:

1. My mother is a US Green Card holder and has a SSN.

2. She lived in her own home (NOT in the US, Canada, or Mexico) for the entire 2023.

3. My mother is widowed.

4. I financially supported my mother during 2023. I paid more than half of all her expenses.

5. Other non-US based siblings (who live in the same country as my mother and are citizens of that country) also supported my mother (but less than half of her expenses in total). None of the siblings claim my mother as a dependent. I am the only one in who is a US citizen/resident and file US taxes.

5. My mother is a homemaker and has no income in the US or in her own country.

6. She has never filed US income taxes.

Based on the above information, can I claim my mother as a dependent? If yes, how do I answer the question about "Citizenship Status" under the TT page with title "Tell Us About Your Parent"? There are 3 choices in this pull-down box:

 - "US citizen or legal resident",

- "A resident of Canada or Mexico", or

- "Neither of the above".

Thank you!

[Bsch4477]

Neither. Green card holders are not US citizens and you post that she doesn’t live in Mexico or Canada. 

[fkhalilz]

Being a US Citizen is not a requirement. 

[Bsch4477]

Read the third bullet on page 27 Table 3.1

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

[fkhalilz]

Thank you for your response.

You seem to be saying that US Citizens (not Green card holders) are eligible to be claimed as a dependent. I have copied below the bullet that you referred to in your response:

"You can’t claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.1"

Here is the definition of U.S. Resident Alien according to the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc851#:~:text=Resident%20Aliens,presence%20test%20for%20the%20year.) which states:

"You're considered a resident alien for a calendar year if you meet the green card test or the substantial presence test for the year."

Here is "the green card test" definition according to IRS (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-tax-residency-green-card-test), which states:

"You are a resident, for U.S. federal tax purposes, if you are a lawful permanent resident of the United States at any time during the calendar year. This is known as the "green card" test.

You are a lawful permanent resident of the United States, at any time, if you have been given the privilege, according to the immigration laws, of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant. You generally have this status if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued you a Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, also known as a "green card."

So, according to this test, my mother does not have to be a US Citizen to qualify as a dependent. Green Card holders should also qualify.

Am I missing something?

[Bsch4477]

Your problem is that for her to be your dependent she would have to have lived in the United States. You posted that she lived abroad and not in Canada or Mexico. 

[fkhalilz]

Publication 17, that you referred to erlier, on Page 34 states:

"Relatives who don’t have to live with you. A person related to you in any of the following ways doesn't have to live with you all year as a member of your household to meet this test.
• Your child, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)
• Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.
• Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
• Your stepfather or stepmother.
• A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
• A son or daughter of your half brother or half sister.
• A brother or sister of your father or mother.
• Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, fa-ther-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law."

So according to the 3rd bullet abov, my mother does not have to live with me to qualify as a dependent. Can you point me to an IRS rule or publication where it states that the dependent must live in the US?

Thanks!

[Bsch4477]

Read my previous post referring to Table 3.1.  She would have to be a RESIDENT alien for you to claim her. 

[DoninGA]

@fkhalilz IRS Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information page 12 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page=12

Citizen or Resident Test

You generally can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

[fkhalilz]

I already provided the definition of "US Resident Alien" according to the IRS in my previous post. It requires the relative to pass the "Green Card Test" OR "Substantial Presence Test". The keyword here is "OR". Both tests are not required to be passed simultanuously to qualify.

[Bsch4477]

How do you pass the green card test?

The Green Card Test determines that you are a resident for tax purposes automatically the day when you become a lawful permanent resident. The individual must be present in the United States a total of 183 days during a 3 year look back counted as follows:Current year – count each day as 100% U.S. presence

[TomD8 · Accepted solution]

Perhaps this online IRS questionnaire will help:

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

[fkhalilz]

Under the "Green Card Test" the residency start date defined by IRS at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/residency-starting-and-ending-dates is as follows:

"Residency Starting Date Under the Green Card Test

If you meet the green card test at any time during a calendar year, but do not meet the substantial presence test for that year, your residency starting date is the first day in the calendar year on which you are present in the United States as a lawful permanent resident (the date on which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially approved your petition to become an immigrant)."

My mother's Green Card was approved by USCIS several years ago. She has been to US many times since then. She was not present in US in 2023. However, according to the above she is considered as US Resident under the Residency Starting Date under the Green Card Test.

Furthermore, at the same IRS link above, there is a definition for Residency Ending Date under the Green Card Test, which states the following:

"Residency Ending Date Under the Green Card Test

Your last day of presence in the United States as a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. is the residency ending date under the immigration laws of the United States.

However, you are still considered to be a resident of the United States for U.S. income tax purposes, until you:

1. voluntarily turn in your green card to USCIS and renounce your U.S. immigrant status;
2. have your immigrant status administratively revoked by USCIS; or
3. have your immigrant status judicially revoked by a United States federal court."

None of these ending conditions apply to my mother.  So, again, according to these definitions for starting and ending dates under the Green Card test, she should still qualify as a dependent.

[Mike9241]

@fkhalilz resident alien defined

How Is a Resident Alien Defined in the United States?
An individual is classified as a resident alien of the U.S. for tax purposes if they meet either the green card test or the substantial presence test for the calendar year (January 1-December 31). The green card test states that a person needs to either have a current green card or have had one in the previous calendar year. The substantial presence test requires that a person has been in the U.S. for more than 31 days during the current year and 183 days during a three-year period that includes the current year and the two years prior.

[fkhalilz]

@TomD8 

This was a very useful tool. Thank you for providing the link.

I went thru the Q/As and below is the result. It says at the top that "You can claim Mother as dependent".