Yes, you should be able to claim your mom as a dependent if you meet the support and other requirements.
To meet the support requirements necessary to claim your parent as a dependent on your tax return, you must cover more than half of your parent’s support costs – meaning 51% or more of their support costs must be covered by you. These costs include food, housing or lodging expenses, clothing, and medical services and/or equipment costs.
Your mom is a “Qualifying Relative.” And guess what? The IRS has residency requirements as well. To meet the resident requirement, your mom must meet one of the following:
- Be a legal US Citizen
- Be a US National
- Be a US Resident Alien
- Be a Resident of Canada or Mexico
To be allowed to claim your mom as a dependent, her earned income cannot be more than$4,050 for the 2016 tax year. This means that if she earns more than $4,050, you aren’t eligible to claim them as a dependent. Non-taxable income, such as Social Security, does not count toward this amount.
Also, your mom cannot file a joint tax return.
One of the last requirements that needs to be stated is that, if you want to claim your mom as a dependent on your tax return, you yourself cannot be eligible as a dependent on someone else’s tax return. Again, you cannot be claimed as a dependent or eligible as a dependent (even without being claimed) if you plan to claim your mom as a dependent. Once all of the requirements are met, you’ll be happy to receive an additional $4,050 tax exemption on your return.
You are also allowed to include your mom’s medical expenses when calculating your medical deductions, and you may also be able to claim the Dependent Care Credit if your mom needs assistance while you’re at work or away.
Don’t worry about knowing these tax laws. TurboTax will ask you simple questions and give you the tax deductions and credits you’re eligible for based on your answers.
