| Pub. 17, Your Federal Income Tax |
2005 Tax Year |
3.
Personal Exemptions and Dependents
Exemption for dependent. Beginning in 2005, you will use new rules to determine whether you can claim an exemption for a dependent. You can claim an
exemption for a
“qualifying child” or a “qualifying relative.” See Exemptions for Dependents.
Exemption amount. The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased from $3,100 in 2004 to $3,200 in 2005.
Exemption phaseout. You lose all or part of the benefit of your exemptions if your adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount
at which this phaseout
begins depends on your filing status. For 2005, the phaseout begins at $109,475 for married persons filing separately, $145,950
for single
individuals, $182,450 for heads of household, and $218,950 for married persons filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)s. See
Phaseout of
Exemptions, later.
Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005. This Act provides tax relief for persons affected by Hurricane Katrina. Under the Act, you may be able to claim a $500 exemption
if you housed an
individual displaced by Hurricane Katrina. You may also be able to claim a student even if he or she was prevented from completing
the normal school
term. See Publication 4492.
This chapter discusses exemptions. The following topics will be explained.
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Personal exemptions — You generally can take one for yourself and, if you are married, one for your spouse.
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Exemptions for dependents — You generally can take an exemption for each of your dependents. A dependent is your qualifying
child or
qualifying relative. If you are entitled to claim an exemption for a dependent, that dependent cannot claim a personal exemption
on his or her own tax
return.
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Phaseout of exemptions — You get less of a deduction when your adjusted gross income goes above a certain amount.
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Social security number (SSN) requirement for dependents — You must list the social security number of any dependent for whom
you claim
an exemption.
Deduction.
Exemptions reduce your taxable income. Generally, you can deduct $3,200 for each exemption you claim in 2005. But,
you may lose the benefit of part
or all of your exemptions if your adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. See Phaseout of Exemptions, later.
How you claim an exemption.
How you claim an exemption on your tax return depends on which form you file.
If you file Form 1040EZ, the exemption amount is combined with the standard deduction amount and
entered on line 5.
If you file Form 1040A or Form 1040, follow the instructions for the form. The total number of
exemptions you can claim is the total in the box on line 6d. Also complete line 26 (Form 1040A) or line 42 (Form 1040) by
multiplying the total number
of exemptions shown in the box on line 6d by $3,200. If your adjusted gross income is more than $109,475, see Phaseout of Exemptions,
later.
Useful Items - You may want to see:
There are two types of exemptions: personal exemptions and exemptions for dependents. While each is worth the same amount
($3,200 for 2005),
different rules apply to each type.
You are generally allowed one exemption for yourself and, if you are married, one exemption for your spouse. These are called
personal exemptions.
You can take one exemption for yourself unless you can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. If another taxpayer
is entitled to claim you
as a dependent, you cannot take an exemption for yourself even if the other taxpayer does not actually claim you as a dependent.
Your spouse is never considered your dependent.
Joint return.
On a joint return you can claim one exemption for yourself and one for your spouse.
Separate return.
If you file a separate return, you can claim the exemption for your spouse only if your spouse had no gross income,
is not filing a return, and was
not the dependent of another taxpayer. This is true even if the other taxpayer does not actually claim your spouse as a dependent.
This is also true
if your spouse is a nonresident alien.
Death of spouse.
If your spouse died during the year, you generally can claim your spouse's exemption under the rules just explained
under Joint return and
Separate return.
If you remarried during the year, you cannot take an exemption for your deceased spouse.
If you are a surviving spouse without gross income and you remarry in the year your spouse died, you can be claimed
as an exemption on both the
final separate return of your deceased spouse and the separate return of your new spouse for that year. If you file a joint
return with your new
spouse, you can be claimed as an exemption only on that return.
Divorced or separated spouse.
If you obtained a final decree of divorce or separate maintenance by the end of the year, you cannot take your former
spouse's exemption. This rule
applies even if you provided all of your former spouse's support.
Exemptions for Dependents
You are allowed one exemption for each person you can claim as a dependent. You can claim an exemption for a dependent even
if your dependent files
a return.
Beginning in 2005, the term “dependent” means:
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A qualifying child, or
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A qualifying relative.
The terms “qualifying child” and “qualifying relative” are defined later.
You can claim an exemption for a qualifying child or qualifying relative only if these three tests are met.
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Dependent taxpayer test.
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Joint return test.
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Citizen or resident test.
These three tests are explained in detail later.
All the requirements for claiming an exemption for a dependent are summarized in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1. Overview of the Rules for Claiming an Exemption for a Dependent
Caution: This table is only an overview of the rules. For details, see the rest of this chapter.
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You cannot claim any dependents if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer.
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You cannot claim a married person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return is only a claim for refund
and there
would be no tax liability for either spouse on separate returns.
-
You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident, U.S. national, or a resident
of Canada or
Mexico, for some part of the year.
1
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You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is your qualifying child or qualifying
relative.
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| Tests To Be a Qualifying Child |
Tests To Be a Qualifying Relative |
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The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother,
stepsister,
or a descendant of any of them.
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The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student,
or (c) any age
if permanently and totally disabled.
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The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.
2
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The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
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If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the
child as a
qualifying child.
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The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of anyone else.
-
The person either (a) must be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you, or (b)
must live with you all year as a member of your household.
2
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The person's gross income for the year must be less than $3,200.
3
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You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
4
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| 1There is an exception for certain adopted children.
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| 2There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, children of divorced or separated
parents,
and
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kidnapped children.
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| 3There is an exception if the person is disabled and has income from a sheltered workshop.
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| 4There is an exception for multiple support agreements.
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Dependent not allowed a personal exemption. If you can claim an exemption for your dependent, the dependent cannot claim his or her own
exemption on his or her own tax return. This is true even if you do not claim the dependent's exemption on your return or
if the exemption will be
reduced or eliminated under the phaseout rule described under Phaseout of Exemptions , later.
Housekeepers, maids, or servants.
If these people work for you, you cannot claim exemptions for them.
Child tax credit.
You may be entitled to a child tax credit for each qualifying child who was under age 17 at the end of the year. For
more information, see the
instructions in your tax forms package.
If you could be claimed as a dependent by another person, you cannot claim anyone else as a dependent. Even if you have a
qualifying child or
qualifying relative, you cannot claim that person as a dependent.
If you are filing a joint return and your spouse could be claimed as a dependent by someone else, you and your spouse cannot
claim any dependents
on your joint return.
You generally cannot claim a married person as a dependent if he or she files a joint return.
Example.
You supported your 18-year-old daughter, and she lived with you all year while her husband was in the Armed Forces. The couple
files a joint
return. Even though your daughter is your qualifying child, you cannot take an exemption for her.
Exception.
The joint return test does not apply if a joint return is filed by the dependent and his or her spouse merely as a
claim for refund and no tax
liability would exist for either spouse on separate returns.
Example.
Your son and his wife each had less than $3,000 of wages and no unearned income. Neither is required to file a tax return.
Taxes were taken out of
their pay, so they filed a joint return to get a refund. You are not disqualified from claiming their exemptions just because
they filed a joint
return.
You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident, U.S. national, or a resident
of Canada or Mexico, for
some part of the year. However, there is an exception for certain adopted children, as explained next.
Adopted child.
If you are a U.S. citizen who has legally adopted a child who is not a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident, or U.S. national,
this test is met if the child
lived with you as a member of your household all year. This also applies if the child was lawfully placed with you for legal
adoption.
Child's place of residence.
Children usually are citizens or residents of the country of their parents.
If you were a U.S. citizen when your child was born, the child may be a U.S. citizen even if the other parent was
a nonresident alien and the child
was born in a foreign country. If so, this test is met.
Foreign students' place of residence.
Foreign students brought to this country under a qualified international education exchange program and placed in
American homes for a temporary
period generally are not U.S. residents and do not meet this test. You cannot claim an exemption for them. However, if you
provided a home for a
foreign student, you may be able to take a charitable contribution deduction. See Expenses Paid for Student Living With You in chapter 24.
U.S. national.
A U.S. national is an individual who, although not a U.S. citizen, owes his or her allegiance to the United States.
U.S. nationals include American
Samoans and Northern Mariana Islanders who chose to become U.S. nationals instead of U.S. citizens.
There are five tests that must be met for a child to be your qualifying child. The five tests are:
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Relationship,
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Age,
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Residency,
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Support, and
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Special test for qualifying child of more than one person.
These tests are explained next.
To meet this test, a child must be:
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Your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, or a descendant (for example, your grandchild) of any of them, or
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Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant (for example, your niece or nephew)
of any of
them.
Adopted child.
An adopted child is always treated as your own child. The term “ adopted child” includes a child who was lawfully placed with you for legal
adoption.
Eligible foster child.
An eligible foster child is an individual who is placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by judgment,
decree, or other order of any
court of competent jurisdiction.
To meet this test, a child must be:
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Under age 19 at the end of the year,
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A full-time student under age 24 at the end of the year, or
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Permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of age.
Example.
Your son turned 19 on December 10. Unless he was disabled or a full-time student, he does not meet the age test because, at
the end of the year, he
was not under age 19.
Full-time student.
A full-time student is a student who is enrolled for the number of hours or courses the school considers to be full-time
attendance.
Student defined.
To qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year:
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A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body
at the school, or
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A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in (1), or by a state, county, or local
government
agency.
The 5 calendar months do not have to be consecutive.
School defined.
A school can be an elementary school, junior and senior high school, college, university, or technical, trade, or
mechanical school. However, an
on-the-job training course, correspondence school, or Internet school does not count as a school.
Vocational high school students.
Students who work on “ co-op” jobs in private industry as a part of a school's regular course of classroom and practical training are
considered full-time students.
Permanently and totally disabled.
Your child is permanently and totally disabled if both of the following apply.
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He or she cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition.
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A doctor determines the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can lead to death.
To meet this test, your child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. There are exceptions for temporary
absences, children who
were born or died during the year, kidnapped children, and children of divorced or separated parents.
Temporary absences.
Your child is considered to have lived with you during periods of time when one of you, or both, are temporarily absent
due to special
circumstances such as:
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Illness,
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Education,
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Business,
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Vacation, or
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Military service.
Death or birth of child.
A child who was born or died during the year is treated as having lived with you all year if your home was the child's
home the entire time he or
she was alive during the year. The same is true if the child lived with you all year except for any required hospital stay
following birth.
Child born alive.
You may be able to claim an exemption for a child who was born alive during the year, even if the child lived only
for a moment. State or local law
must treat the child as having been born alive. There must be proof of a live birth shown by an official document, such as
a birth certificate. The
child must be your qualifying child or qualifying relative, and all the other tests to claim an exemption for a dependent
must be met.
Stillborn child.
You cannot claim an exemption for a stillborn child.
Kidnapped child.
You can treat your child as meeting the residency test even if the child has been kidnapped, but both of the following
statements must be true.
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The child is presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a member of your family
or the child's
family.
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In the year the kidnapping occurred, the child lived with you for more than half of the part of the year before the date of
the
kidnapping.
This treatment applies for all years until the child is returned. However, the last year this treatment can apply
is the earlier of:
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The year there is a determination that the child is dead, or
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The year the child would have reached age 18.
Children of divorced or separated parents.
A child will be treated as the qualifying child of his or her noncustodial parent if all of the following apply.
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The parents:
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Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance,
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Are separated under a written separation agreement, or
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Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year.
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The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents.
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The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year.
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A decree of divorce or separate maintenance or written separation agreement that applies to 2005 provides that the noncustodial
parent can
claim the child as a dependent (and, in the case of a pre-1985 agreement, the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for
the support of the child
during the year) or the custodial parent signs a written declaration that he or she will not claim the child as a dependent for the
year.
Written declaration.
The custodial parent may use either Form 8332 or a similar statement (containing the information required by the
form) to make the written
declaration to release the exemption to the noncustodial parent.
The exemption can be released for 1 year, for a number of specified years (for example, alternate years), or for all
future years, as specified in
the declaration.
Custodial parent and noncustodial parent.
The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater part of the year. The other parent is
the noncustodial parent.
If the parents divorced or separated during the year and the child lived with both parents before the separation,
the custodial parent is the one
with whom the child lived for the greater part of the rest of the year.
Example.
Your child lived with you for 10 months of the year. The child lived with your former spouse for the other 2 months. You are
considered the
custodial parent.
Parents who never married.
This special rule for divorced or separated parents also applies to parents who never married.
Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Child)
To meet this test, the child cannot have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
This test is different from the support test to be a qualifying relative, which is described later. However, to see what is
or is not support, see
Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Relative), later. If you are not sure whether a child provided more than half of his or her own support,
you may find Worksheet 3-1 helpful.
Scholarships.
A scholarship received by a child who is a full-time student is not taken into account in determining whether the
child provided more than half of
his or her own support.
Special Test for Qualifying Child of More Than One Person
If your qualifying child is not a qualifying child for anyone else, this test does not apply to you and you do not need to
read about it. This is
also true if your qualifying child is not a qualifying child for anyone else except your spouse with whom you file a joint
return.
If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the rules for children of divorced or separated
parents described
earlier, see Applying this special test to divorced or separated parents , later.
Sometimes, a child meets the relationship, age, residency, and support tests to be a qualifying child of more than one person.
Although the child
is a qualifying child of each of these persons, only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. To meet
this special test, you
must be the person who can treat the child as a qualifying child.
If you and another person have the same qualifying child, you and the other person(s) can decide which of you will treat the
child as a qualifying
child. That person can take all of the following tax benefits (provided the person is eligible for each benefit) based on
the qualifying child.
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The exemption for the child.
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The child tax credit.
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Head of household filing status.
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The credit for child and dependent care expenses.
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The earned income credit.
The other person cannot take any of these benefits based on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the other person
cannot agree to
divide these tax benefits between you.
If you and the other person(s) cannot agree on who will claim the child and more than one person files a return claiming the
same child, the IRS
will disallow all but one of the claims using the tie-breaker rule in Table 3-2.
Table 3-2. When More Than One Person Files a Return Claiming the Same Qualifying Child (Tie-Breaker Rule)
Caution. If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the rules for children of divorced or
separated parents, see Applying this special test to divorced or separated parents.
| IF more than one person files a return claiming the same
qualifying child and . . . |
|
THEN the child will be treated as the qualifying child of the. .
. |
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only one of the persons is the child's parent,
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|
parent.
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two of the persons are parents of the child and they do not file a joint
return together,
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parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year.
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two of the persons are parents of the child, they do not file a joint
return together, and the child lived with each parent the same amount of time during the year,
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parent with the highest adjusted gross income (AGI).
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none of the persons are the child's parent,
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person with the highest AGI.
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Example 1—child lived with parent and grandparent.
You and your 3-year-old daughter Jade lived with your mother all year. You are 25 years old and earned $9,000 for the year.
Jade is a qualifying
child of both you and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency, and support tests for both you and your
mother. However, only
one of you can claim her. You agree to let your mother claim Jade. This means she can claim Jade as a dependent and can claim
her as a qualifying
child for the child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit for child and dependent care expenses, and the earned
income credit, if she
qualifies for each of those tax benefits.
Example 2—two persons unable to agree.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you and your mother are unable to agree and both of you claim Jade as a
dependent and claim her
as a qualifying child for the child tax credit and earned income credit. You as the child's parent will be the only one allowed
to claim Jade as a
dependent and claim her as a qualifying child for the child tax credit and earned income credit. The IRS will disallow your
mother's claim to these
tax benefits unless she has another qualifying child.
Example 3—qualifying children split between two persons.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you also have two other young children who are qualifying children of both
you and your mother.
Only one of you can claim each child as a dependent. However, you and your mother can split the three qualifying children
between you. For example,
you can claim one child as a dependent and your mother can claim the other two.
Example 4—taxpayer who is a qualifying child.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you are only 18 years old and did not provide more than half of your own
support for the year.
This means you are your mother's qualifying child and she could claim you as a dependent. Because of the Dependent Taxpayer Test explained
earlier, you cannot treat your daughter as a qualifying child and cannot claim her as a dependent. Only your mother can treat
your daughter as a
qualifying child.
Example 5—separated parents.
You, your husband, and your 10-year-old son lived together until August 1, 2005, when your husband moved out of the household.
In August and
September, your son lived with you. For the rest of the year, your son lived with your husband. Your son is a qualifying child
of both you and your
husband because your son lived with each of you for more than half the year and because he met the relationship, age, and
support tests for both of
you. You and your husband are not divorced, legally separated, or separated under a written separation agreement, so the special
rule for divorced or
separated parents does not apply.
You and your husband will file separate returns. Your husband agrees to let you treat your son as a qualifying child. This
means, if your husband
does not claim your son as a qualifying child, you can claim your son as a dependent and treat him as a qualifying child for
the child tax credit.
However, you cannot claim head of household filing status because you and your husband did not live apart the last 6 months
of the year. As a result,
your filing status is married filing separately, so you cannot claim the earned income credit or the credit for child and
dependent care expenses.
Example 6—separated parents.
The facts are the same as in Example 5 except that you and your husband are unable to agree and both of you claim your son
as a qualifying child.
Only your husband will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because, during 2005, the boy lived with
him longer than with you.
If you claimed an exemption, the child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit for child and dependent care expenses,
or the earned income
credit for your son, the IRS will disallow your claim to all these tax benefits. In addition, because you and your husband
did not live apart the last
6 months of the year, your husband cannot claim head of household filing status. As a result, his filing status is married
filing separately, so he
cannot claim the earned income credit or the credit for child and dependent care expenses
Example 7—unmarried parents.
You, your 5-year-old son, and your son's father lived together all year. You and your son's father are not married. Your son
is a qualifying child
of both you and his father because he meets the relationship, age, residency, and support tests for both you and his father.
Your adjusted gross
income (AGI) is $8,000 and your son's father's AGI is $18,000. Your son's father agrees to let you treat the child as a qualifying
child. This means
you can claim him as a dependent and treat him as a qualifying child for the child tax credit, head of household filing status,
credit for child and
dependent care expenses, and the earned income credit, if you qualify for each of those tax benefits.
Example 8—unmarried parents.
The facts are the same as in Example 7 except that you and your son's father are unable to agree and both of you claim your
son as a qualifying
child. Only your son's father will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because his AGI, $18,000, is
more than your AGI,
$8,000. If you claimed an exemption, the child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit for child and dependent
care expenses, or the
earned income credit for your son, the IRS will disallow your claim to all these tax benefits.
Example 9—child did not live with a parent.
You and your 7-year-old niece, your sister's child, lived with your mother all year. You are 25 years old, and your AGI is
$9,300. Your mother's
AGI is $15,000. Your niece is a qualifying child of both you and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency,
and support tests for
both you and your mother. However, only one of you can treat her as a qualifying child. Your mother agrees to let you treat
the child as a qualifying
child.
Example 10—child did not live with a parent.
The facts are the same as in Example 9 except that you and your mother are unable to agree and both of you claim your niece
as a qualifying child.
Only your mother will be allowed to treat your niece as a qualifying child. This is because your mother's AGI, $15,000, is
more than your AGI, $9,300.
If you claimed an exemption, the child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit for child and dependent care expenses,
or the earned income
credit for your niece, the IRS will disallow your claim to all these tax benefits.
Applying this special test to divorced or separated parents.
If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the rules for children of divorced
or separated parents described
earlier, the noncustodial parent can claim an exemption and the child tax credit for the child but cannot claim the child
as a qualifying child for
head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, or the earned income credit. If the child
is the qualifying child
of more than one other person, only one of those persons can claim the child as a qualifying child for head of household filing
status, the credit for
child and dependent care expenses, and the earned income credit. No other person can claim any of these three tax benefits
unless he or she has a
different qualifying child. If you and any other person file a return claiming the child as a qualifying child for any of
these three tax benefits,
the IRS will disallow all but one of the claims using the tie-breaker rule in Table 3-2.
There are four tests that must be met for a person to be your qualifying relative. The four tests are:
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Not a qualifying child test,
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Member of household or relationship test,
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Gross income test, and
-
Support test.
Age.
Unlike a qualifying child, a qualifying relative can be any age. There is no age test for a qualifying relative.
Kidnapped child.
You can treat a child as your qualifying relative even if the child has been kidnapped, but both of the following
statements must be true.
-
The child is presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a member of your family
or the child's
family.
-
In the year the kidnapping occurred, the child met the tests to be your qualifying relative for the part of the year before
the date of the
kidnapping.
This treatment applies for all years until the child is returned. However, the last year this treatment can apply
is the earlier of:
-
The year there is a determination that the child is dead, or
-
The year the child would have reached age 18.
Not a Qualifying Child Test
A child is not your qualifying relative if the child is your qualifying child or the qualifying child of anyone else.
Example 1.
Your 22-year-old daughter, who is a student, lives with you and meets all the tests to be your qualifying child. She is not
your qualifying
relative.
Example 2.
Your 2-year-old son lives with your parents and meets all the tests to be their qualifying child. He is not your qualifying
relative.
Example 3.
Your son lives with you but is not your qualifying child because he is 30 years old and does not meet the age test. He may
be your qualifying
relative if the gross income test and the support test are met.
Example 4.
Your 13-year-old grandson lived with his mother for 3 months, with his uncle for 4 months, and with you for 5 months during
the year. He is not
your qualifying child because he does not meet the residency test. He may be your qualifying relative if the gross income
test and the support test
are met.
Member of Household or Relationship Test
To meet this test, a person must either:
-
Live with you all year as a member of your household, or
-
Be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you.
If at any time during the year the person was your spouse, that person cannot be your qualifying relative. However, see Personal
Exemptions, earlier.
Relatives who do not have to live with you.
A person related to you in any of the following ways does not have to live with you all year as a member of your household
to meet this test.
-
Your child, stepchild, eligible foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted
child is
considered your child.)
-
Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.
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Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
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Your stepfather or stepmother.
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A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
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A brother or sister of your father or mother.
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Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.
Any of these relationships that were established by marriage are not ended by death or divorce.
Eligible foster child.
An eligible foster child is an individual who is placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by judgment,
decree, or other order of any
court of competent jurisdiction.
Joint return.
If you file a joint return, the person can be related to either you or your spouse. Also, the person does not need
to be related to the spouse who
provides support.
For example, your spouse's uncle who receives more than half of his support from you may be your qualifying relative,
even though he does not live
with you. However, if you and your spouse file separate returns, your spouse's uncle can be your qualifying relative only
if he lives with you all
year as a member of your household.
Temporary absences.
A person is considered to live with you as a member of your household during periods of time when one of you, or both,
are temporarily absent due
to special circumstances such as:
-
Illness,
-
Education,
-
Business,
-
Vacation, or
-
Military service.
If the person is placed in a nursing home for an indefinite period of time to receive constant medical care, the absence
may be considered
temporary.
Death or birth.
A person who died during the year, but lived with you as a member of your household until death, will meet this test.
The same is true for a child
who was born during the year and lived with you as a member of your household for the rest of the year. The test is also met
if a child lived with you
as a member of your household except for any required hospital stay following birth.
If your dependent died during the year and you otherwise qualified to claim an exemption for the dependent, you can
still claim the exemption.
Example.
Your dependent mother died on January 15. She met the tests to be your qualifying relative. The other tests to claim an exemption
for a dependent
were also met. You can claim an exemption for her on your return.
Local law violated.
A person does not meet this test if at any time during the year the relationship between you and that person violates
local law.
Example.
Your girlfriend lived with you as a member of your household all year. However, your relationship with her violated the laws
of the state where you
live, because she was married to someone else. Therefore, she does not meet this test and you cannot claim her as a dependent.
Adopted child.
An adopted child is always treated as your own child. The term “ adopted child” includes a child who was lawfully placed with you for legal
adoption.
Cousin.
Your cousin meets this test only if he or she lives with you all year as a member of your household. A cousin is a
descendant of a brother or
sister of your father or mother.
To meet this test, a person's gross income for the year must be less than $3,200.
Gross income defined.
Gross income is all income in the form of money, property, and services that is not exempt from tax.
In a manufacturing, merchandising, or mining business, gross income is the total net sales minus the cost of goods
sold, plus any miscellaneous
income from the business.
Gross receipts from rental property are gross income. Do not deduct taxes, repairs, etc., to determine the gross income
from rental property.
Gross income includes a partner's share of the gross (not a share of the net) partnership income.
Gross income also includes all unemployment compensation and certain scholarship and fellowship grants. Scholarships
received by degree candidates that are used for tuition, fees, supplies, books, and equipment required for particular courses
may not be included in
gross income. For more information about scholarships, see chapter 12.
Tax-exempt income, such as certain social security benefits, is not included in gross income.
Disabled dependent working at sheltered workshop.
For purposes of this test (the gross income test), the gross income of an individual who is permanently and totally
disabled at any time during the
year does not include income for services the individual performs at a sheltered workshop. The availability of medical care
at the workshop must be
the main reason for the individual's presence there. Also, the income must come solely from activities at the workshop that
are incident to this
medical care.
A “ sheltered workshop” is a school that:
-
Provides special instruction or training designed to alleviate the disability of the individual, and
-
Is operated by certain tax-exempt organizations, or by a state, a U.S. possession, a political subdivision of a state or possession,
the
United States, or the District of Columbia.
Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Relative)
To meet this test, you generally must provide more than half of a person's total support during the calendar year.
However, if two or more persons provide support, but no one person provides more than half of a person's total support, see
Multiple Support
Agreement, later.
How to determine if support test is met.
You figure whether you have provided more than half of a person's total support by comparing the amount you contributed
to that person's support
with the entire amount of support that person received from all sources. This includes support the person provided from his
or her own funds.
You may find Worksheet 3-1 helpful in figuring whether you provided more than half of a person's support.
Person's own funds not used for support.
A person's own funds are not support unless they are actually spent for support.
Example.
Your mother received $2,400 in social security benefits and $300 in interest. She paid $2,000 for lodging and $400 for recreation.
She put $300 in
a savings account.
Even though your mother received a total of $2,700, she spent only $2,400 for her own support. If you spent more than $2,400
for her support and no
other support was received, you have provided more than half of her support.
Child's wages used for own support.
You cannot include in your contribution to your child's support any support that is paid for by the child with the
child's own wages, even if you
paid the wages.
Year support is provided.
The year you provide the support is the year you pay for it, even if you do so with borrowed money that you repay
in a later year.
If you use a fiscal year to report your income, you must provide more than half of the dependent's support for the
calendar year in which your
fiscal year begins.
Armed Forces dependency allotments.
The part of the allotment contributed by the government and the part taken out of your military pay are both considered
provided by you in figuring
whether you provide more than half of the support. If your allotment is used to support persons other than those you name,
you can take the exemptions
for them if they otherwise qualify.
Example.
You are in the Armed Forces. You authorize an allotment for your widowed mother that she uses to support herself and her sister.
If the allotment
provides more than half of each person's support, you can take an exemption for each of them, if they otherwise qualify, even
though you authorize the
allotment only for your mother.
Tax-exempt military quarters allowances.
These allowances are treated the same way as dependency allotments in figuring support. The allotment of pay and the
tax-exempt basic allowance for
quarters are both considered as provided by you for support.
Tax-exempt income.
In figuring a person's total support, include tax-exempt income, savings, and borrowed amounts used to support that
person. Tax-exempt income
includes certain social security benefits, welfare benefits, nontaxable life insurance proceeds, Armed Forces family allotments,
nontaxable pensions,
and tax-exempt interest.
Example 1.
You provide $4,000 toward your mother's support during the year. She has earned income of $600, nontaxable social security
benefits of $4,800, and
tax-exempt interest of $200. She uses all these for her support. You cannot claim an exemption for your mother because the
$4,000 you provide is not
more than half of her total support of $9,600.
Example 2.
Your brother's daughter takes out a student loan of $2,500 and uses it to pay her college tuition. She is personally responsible
for the loan. You
provide $2,000 toward her total support. You cannot claim an exemption for her because you provide less than half of her support.
Social security benefits.
If a husband and wife each receive benefits that are paid by one check made out to both of them, half of the total
paid is considered to be for the
support of each spouse, unless they can show otherwise.
If a child receives social security benefits and uses them toward his or her own support, the benefits are considered
as provided by the child.
Support provided by the state (welfare, food stamps, housing, etc.).
Benefits provided by the state to a needy person generally are considered support provided by the state. However,
payments based on the needs of
the recipient will not be considered as used entirely for that person's support if it is shown that part of the payments were
not used for that
purpose.
Foster care payments and expenses.
Payments you receive for the support of a foster child from a child placement agency are considered support provided
by the agency. Similarly,
payments you receive for the support of a foster child from a state or county are considered support provided by the state
or county.
If you are not in the trade or business of providing foster care and your unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in caring
for a foster child were
mainly to benefit an organization qualified to receive deductible charitable contributions, the expenses are deductible as
charitable contributions
but are not considered support you provided. For more information about the deduction for charitable contributions, see chapter
24. If your
unreimbursed expenses are not deductible as charitable contributions, they are considered support you provided.
If you are in the trade or business of providing foster care, your unreimbursed expenses are not considered support
provided by you.
Example.
Lauren, an eligible foster child, lived with Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the last 3 months of the year. The Smiths cared for Lauren
because they wanted
to adopt her (although she had not been placed with them for adoption). They did not care for her as a trade or business or
to benefit the agency that
placed her in their home. The Smiths' unreimbursed expenses are not deductible as charitable contributions but are considered
support they provided
for Lauren.
Home for the aged.
If you make a lump-sum advance payment to a home for the aged to take care of your relative for life and the payment
is based on that person's life
expectancy, the amount of support you provide each year is the lump-sum payment divided by the relative's life expectancy.
The amount of support you
provide also includes any other amounts you provided during the year.
To figure if you provided more than half of a person's support, you must first determine the total support provided for that
person. Total support
includes amounts spent to provide food, lodging, clothing, education, medical and dental care, recreation, transportation,
and similar necessities.
Generally, the amount of an item of support is the amount of the expense incurred in providing that item. For lodging, the
amount of support is the
fair rental value of the lodging.
Expenses that are not directly related to any one member of a household, such as the cost of food for the household, must
be divided among the
members of the household.
Example 1.
Grace Brown, mother of Mary Miller, lives with Frank and Mary Miller and their two children. Grace gets social security benefits
of $2,400, which
she spends for clothing, transportation, and recreation. Grace has no other income. Frank and Mary's total food expense for
the household is $5,200.
They pay Grace's medical and drug expenses of $1,200. The fair rental value of the lodging provided for Grace is $1,800 a
year, based on the cost of
similar rooming facilities. Figure Grace's total support as follows:
|
Fair rental value of lodging
|
$ 1,800
|
|
Clothing, transportation and recreation
|
| |
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