They do not have to live with you for the entire year. A parent is the one exception to the rule that a person must live with you for more than half the year to meet the Head of Household filing status. Either parent could qualify you for this status, and both could potentially be your dependent.
Support would be the only real issue depending on whether they have income that is not taxable such as social security. Included below is a link to the worksheet for you review
Note: The relatives listed below are considered
“Relatives who don’t have to live with you” to be a dependent.
- Was the person your son, daughter, stepchild,
foster child, or a descendant of any of them
(i.e., your grandchild)? OR
- Was the person your brother, sister, half brother,
half-sister, or a son or daughter of any
of them? OR
- Was the person your father, mother, or an
ancestor or sibling of either of them? OR
- Was the person your stepbrother, stepsister,
stepfather, stepmother, son-in-law, daughter in-law,
father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law,
or sister-in-law?1
The rules are listed for you here. Qualifying Relative:
You provided more than half of their support.
They made less than $4,050 in gross taxable income. (Social Security income generally doesn’t count here.)
They live with you (365 days in the year) or they are related to you.
They aren’t a dependent on someone else’s taxes.
They aren’t doing their taxes with a spouse (married filing jointly). Exception, if they have no tax liability whether they file jointly or separately (this is not refund or balance due, it's a zero tax liability). It appears in your case they would have zero tax liability.
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They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
You can’t claim a dependent if you are a dependent on someone else’s taxes. Use the link here for more information. Rules for Claiming a Dependent on Your Tax Return
IRS Worksheet to Determine Support (click this link to print the worksheet)
