My mother is 67 years old, and her income is less than $4200. Can I claim her as a dependent even if she claims another of my siblings on her own tax return?

[Anonymous]

the situation you describe does not make sense.  with only $4200 or less in income, why is your mother claiming a sibling. she wouldn't even be required to file.  not that this is a requirement for your mother to claim a sibling but how can she support the sibling with not even enough income to support herself.   With your mother being 67, it would seem the sibling would be older than 24 and thus would not be a qualifying child (qc) for your mother to claim.  

if I'm correct that sibling is not a qc for your mother to claim she would have to meet the qualifying relative tests.

1) sibling's gross income for 2019 less than $4,200
2) mother provides over ½  sibling's support
3) isn’t a qualifying child of another taxpayer. A person is not considered to be the qualifying child of another taxpayer if that other taxpayer is not required to file a tax return and that person (1) does not file such return or (2) does file solely to claim a refund of withheld taxes. This exception doesn’t apply when the other taxpayer files a return to receive the earned income credit.

[Anonymous]

I should have been more clear- I was referring to my mother's earned income being less than $4200. However, her gross income when factoring in her social security and disability benefits means that she can file. Also, she does support my disabled sibling (40 y/o) who lives with her, and she contributes up to half of sibling's support without a doubt. My sibling does receive SSI, which amounts to over the $4200 threshold annually, but I thought perhaps he could still be considered a QC despite this??

I support my mother with more than half of her own expenses, and my question is, given all I have explained, can I claim her as a dependent? It seems to me that once she claims someone else as a dependent, that means I automatically cannot claim her, but I want to be sure.

The situation is a bit convoluted. Thanks for taking the time to answer thoughtfully.

[VolvoGirl]

Actually it's the other way around.  If you claim her as a dependent then she can not claim any dependents on her return.  Sounds like you might be able to claim her.  Then on her return she has to check the box that says she can be claimed on someone else's return.

Who can I claim as a dependent?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/credits-and-deductions/help/who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent/00/267...

[VolvoGirl]

Here, see this one.  Can I claim my parent?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/credits-and-deductions/help/can-i-claim-my-parent-as-a-dependent/0...