You may claim a dependency exemption for a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. A child who is a qualifying child of any taxpayer for the tax year is not your qualifying relative. For the definition of a qualifying child and the definition of a qualifying relative, refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information.

To claim a dependency exemption for a qualifying relative, the following dependency tests must be met:

1. The member of household or relationship test,
2. The citizen or resident test,
3. The joint return test,
4. The gross income test, and
5. The support test.

However, special rules apply to allow parents to claim the exemption for a kidnapped child in certain circumstances. Refer to Topic 357, Tax Information for Parents of Kidnapped Children, for more information.

The first test is the member of household or relationship test. To meet this test, a person must either live with you for the entire year as a member of your household or be related to you. The Form 1040 Instructions and Form 1040A Instructions list all relatives who meet the relationship test. Your spouse is never considered your dependent. A person is not considered a member of your household if, at any time during the tax year, your relationship with that person violates local law. If a person was born or died during the year and was a member of your household during the entire part of the year he or she was alive, the person meets the member of household test.

The second test is the citizen or resident test. To meet this test, a person must be a citizen or national of the United States, a resident of the United States, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. To find out who is a resident of the United States, refer to Topic 851, or refer to Publication 519.

The third test is the joint return test. Generally, you are not allowed to claim a person as a dependent if he or she files a joint return. However, you may claim a person who filed a joint return merely to claim a refund of tax. This exception applies if neither the person nor the person's spouse is required to file a return and no tax liability would have existed for either the person or the person's spouse if each had filed a separate return.

The fourth test is the gross income test. Generally, you may not claim a person as a dependent if the person's gross income equaled or exceeded the exemption amount for the tax year. Refer to "Exemptions" in Publication 501. Gross income is all income in the form of money, goods, property, or services that is not exempt from tax.

The fifth test is the support test. To claim a dependency exemption for a person as your qualifying relative, you generally must provide more than half of that person's total support during the calendar year in which your tax year begins. Special rules apply to multiple support agreements and to children of divorced or separated parents, or to children of parents who have lived apart at all time during the last six months of the year. Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information for more information.

You must include a valid social security number, individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), or adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN) for each dependent claimed on your tax return or the exemption will be disallowed. For more information on the ITIN, refer to Topic 857 or refer to Publication 1915 (PDF). For more information on the ATIN, refer to Form W-7A (PDF), Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions. Also, if you are a dependent of another person, you cannot claim any dependents on your return.

For more information on dependents, refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, and Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.