My mother in law lived with us for 7 months in 2024. she has no US income, doesn't file taxes, can I claim her as a dependent?

[mdasari]

Hello,

My mother-in-law lived with us for seven months in 2024, and we provided her with full support, including housing, food, travel, comfort costing substantial expenses. We're trying to determine if we can claim her as a dependent on our taxes.

There's a differing view within the family regarding her dependency status. While we understand she has no U.S. income and doesn't file U.S. taxes, and therefore we believe that she can be claimed as a dependent, my brother-in-law considers her to be independent, with no tax filings, so can't claim her as dependent.

Based on some information I've found (article1, article2), it appears we might be able to claim her. Are there any other factors or requirements we should be aware of to ensure we're claiming her correctly, especially considering the differing opinions?

Thanks much for your support.

[xmasbaby0]

You mention "no U.S.income" which suggests that she might have had some income from elsewhere.  And you are not mentioning where she traveled from, or anything else regarding her status as a resident alien, national, or Canadian or Mexican resident.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $5050 in 2024.   (Not counting Social Security)
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

[mdasari]

Thanks for quick reply.

She is a green card holder, has SSN, who travelled with my family  on a pleasure trip to India during her 2024 stay with us.

She likely has some income in India, but I assumed to be below the US tax filing threshold, as she hasn't filed taxes in previous years though she lived in USA. I can check on this, if there is a specific topic I've to validate.