Claiming my father as an independent but he wants me to unclaim him

[vinnytin]

Hello,

I claimed my retired father in tax as a dependent, I support him, if give him cash, but now he wants him unclaimed so he can get social benefits. Long story short, I don't want to remove him from my taxes and he threatens to contact the IRS if I don't. Will I suffer any repercussions? 

[xmasbaby0]

You mean you claimed your father as a dependent--not "an independent."   Did you pay for over half your father's support. ("...I give him cash...")?   Did he have less than $4700 of income in 2023--not counting any Social Security?

Use this IRS tool to determine if you can claim him as a dependent.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

What "social benefits" does your father think he will not be eligible for if he is claimed as a dependent on your tax return?  Perhaps he is unclear as to the criteria to receive certain benefits or unclear as to the effect of being claimed.

[DoninGA]

If he is eligible to be claimed as a dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules there is nothing he can do to prevent you from claiming him as a dependent.

Are you sure you can claim him as a dependent under the rules?

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,700 (social security does not count) in 2023
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

[vinnytin]

Yes, I claimed him as dependent and I don't know how much he is receiving from his retirement. I provided half of my support. I paid the rent and utilities under his name. 

The benefit I am referring to is his SNAP and perhaps some other assistance programs.

We also lived together for many years under the same address, but due to domestic issues, I moved out this year, 2024

[VolvoGirl]

Even if you don't claim him, if he qualifies as your dependent he still has to say on his return he CAN be claimed by someone else.  What retirement income is he getting?  As said before if 2023  was over $4,700 (not including Social Security or SSDI) you can't claim him. 

[Critter-3]

https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/recipient/eligibility