@ashkevenus wrote:
She has no income aside from SS. My biggest concern is accounting for her stimulus---when asked to affirm I got stimulus when I file would I add her stimulus to my amount?
I'll have to find out what the letter directly regards as far as year/timeframe
For your mother, there are two questions.
- Does she have less than $4300 of taxable income? Social security is not taxable if she has little other income, and neither is the stimulus, but a pension or investment interest would be taxable income.
- Do you provide more than half her total financial support? Here, social security and the stimulus do count as "support" that she provides to herself, along with money spent from savings and other income. If other relatives, charities, church, or government help support her, that counts as support provided by those relatives. Her financial support needs include room and board, clothing, travel, entertainment, and medical care. Does the support you provide (free room and board, other costs you pay for) equal more than half her total support needs.
If you answer yes to both, then she is your dependent.
A stimulus she received in her name is not added to your tax return, because it was in her name, not yours. And in fact, for 2021, this may mean that you get a recovery rebate for her when you claim her as a dependent, even though she got a stimulus previously. This is legal and a result of the way the law was written.
