Tax information center : Filing : Dependents
Question

If someone (other than a qualifying child) who lives with me and is unemployed, can I claim he or she as a Dependent Relative?

Answer

Maybe. You might be able to claim the person as Qualifying Relative Dependent. To do so, all of these requirements must true:

  • The person is your relative or your spouses (if married filing jointly) or has lived with you the entire year (365 days).
  • The person’s gross income was less than $4,200.
  • You paid more than half of the person’s support for the year.
  • The person isn’t a qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
  • The person isn’t filing a joint return, unless it’s only to claim a refund of taxes withheld or estimated taxes paid. Also, there would be no tax liability for either the person or the person’s spouse if filing separate returns.
  • The person is one of these:
    • U.S. citizen
    • U.S. national
    • Resident of the United States, Canada, or Mexico
  • You (or your spouse) can’t be claimed as a dependent.

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