Parent as dependent?

[Shoop1]

My parent lives in a house that I own and maintain, but not my residence. Does that quality my parent as a dependent or as living with me?

Thanks!

[xmasbaby0]

You are not providing enough information.  What income do they have?  The fact that they live in a house you own is not enough information.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

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

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They are related to you.

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or   Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

  •      They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They lived with you the entire year.

• They made less than $4300  (not counting Social Security)

• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

• Does a dependent have to live with me?

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

• Can I claim a newborn baby?

[Shoop1]

The parent just retired this year but the income prior to retirement was over $4300. Assuming the other qualifications provided are appropriate, would the parent qualify as a dependent in terms of the house ownership scenario? Thanks again!

[DoninGA]

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@Shoop1 wrote:

The parent just retired this year but the income prior to retirement was over $4300. Assuming the other qualifications provided are appropriate, would the parent qualify as a dependent in terms of the house ownership scenario? Thanks again!

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If the parent has gross income of $4,300 or more in 2020 then you cannot claim them as a dependent on your 2020 tax return.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

Your parent can be your dependent if they had less than $4300 of taxable income for 2020 AND if you provided more than half their total living support. The $4300 figure will rise each future year with an inflation adjustment.

For this year and every future tax year, you have to consider both their taxable income and their total living expenses. You get credit for the fair market rental value of the home that you provide as support you provide.  If you provide any other support, such as food or a financial allowance, that also counts as support that you provide. Support that they provide themselves includes money that they spend from savings or from investments or from Social Security. (Remember that even though Social Security may not be taxable income for the income test, it is always support they provide themselves for the support test.)  support provided by other people, such as charities or the government, does not count as support provided by you or provided by them self. You must add up their total living expenses and determine whether you provided more than half the total of their support.

[NCperson]

@Shoop1 - the $4300 referenced by others would EXCLUDE Social security....so if they have income, other than social security, that exceeds $4300 they could not be your dependent.   

[xmasbaby0]

And.....so that you do not have unrealistic ideas about what you "get" for claiming a parent as a dependent---you "get" a $500 credit---and possibly an itemized deduction if you pay their medical expenses and have enough itemized deductions to exceed your own standard deduction AND meet the difficult threshold of entering the medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your own AGI.

CREDIT FOR OTHER DEPENDENTS

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4499708-what-is-the-500-credit-for-other-dependents-family-tax-cre...