Dependents

[Ukwildcat2]

Mt grandmother passed away on January 28th of this year. I was her caregiver. Am I still able to claim her as a dependent for those years taxes?

[Hal_Al]

Yes, a person who died during the year, even in January, is still considered a dependent for the entire year, if the normal dependent rules are met.

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related).  A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4400 (2022).
3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

He must have a US social security number or tax identification number (TIN)

[MariaDG]

Hello Ukwildcat2, thanks for participating in our event today.  I'm so sorry for your loss.  And you are wonderful for taking good care of your grandmother. 

If a dependent passes away during the tax year, they can still be claimed as a dependent for the entire year, assuming that they meet all the other qualifications.  In this case, your grandmother would be considered a 'qualifying relative who does not have to live with you' so the only requirements would be that she had less than $4300 income and you provided more than half of her support. 

I hope that helps.  

[SuziM]

Thanks for your participation in our Ask the Expert event regarding "How does the Child Tax Credit and Dependent Care Credit impact this year's tax return for you?"! We’d love to get your input on the event and your TurboTax experience: Click here to leave a video testimonial.