Can we claim my brother in law as dependent with F1 visa who under the Substantial Presence Test he passes as a US Resident?

[marianapoliello]

My husband and I wanted to claim my brother in law as a dependent as we support him financially. He is on a F1 visa. Under the Substantial Presence Test he passes as a US Resident. He has a SSN because he is in the middle of paperwork to enlist in the US but he has not signed his military contract yet because the quota was filled last year and reopens this April when he will be able to sign his military contract and get scheduled for bootcamp. Can I claim him as a dependent and use the SSN the the Military assigned him?

[PatriciaV]

Yes, you may be able to claim your in-law as a dependent, under certain circumstances.

A dependent can be of any age. If the person is age 24 or older and not disabled then the Qualifying Relative rules would apply. A Qualifying Relative be claimed as a dependent if they meet all of these requirements:

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
   
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
   
3. The person's gross income for 2016 must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count).
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
   
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
   
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

If you're still unsure, try entering your child's information in TurboTax and let the program tell you if you can claim this person as a dependent.