PARENT DEPENDENT CASINO WINNINGS

Her winnings are income to her.  If more than $13,500, she must file a tax return, report the winnings and pay tax.  If half her social security plus her winnings are more than $25,000, part of her social security will also be taxable.  

If her winnings are more than $4700, you can't claim her as a dependent this year.  However, if you still provided more than half her overall financial support, you can still deduct her medical expenses that you paid, even though she is not a dependent this year. 

You would never report her winnings on your tax return.  

Yes, her casino winnings are considered income.  So, it actually depends on how much she won if you can still claim her or not.  If she won more than $4,700, then you cannot claim her as a dependent on your return.  If her winnings are enough that a return must be filed, then you would need to file a separate return for her. 

Depending on her age, if her total income is more than $13,850 (plus $1,500 if she is over 65) she will need to file a return.  Her income would be her winnings plus half of her social security. 

To claim someone as a Qualifying Relative, they must be:

• Your child ( including step children, adoptive children and foster children) or a descendent of them
• Your sibling (including half siblings) or a child of your sibling or a sibling-in-law
• Your parent or grandparents, including step parents and in laws
• Any other person that lived with you for the entire tax year
• Not a qualifying child of another taxpayer
• Someone that you provided over half of their support for during the tax year
• Must have earned less than $4,700 for the year