Publication 501
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220868You 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. However, see
Joint Return Test, later.
All the requirements for claiming an exemption for a dependent are summarized in
Table 5.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000196863Table 5. Overview of the Rules for Claiming an Exemption for a
Dependent
| This table is only an overview of the rules. For details, see the rest of this
publication. |
- You can't claim any dependents if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent by another
taxpayer.
- You can't claim a married person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid.
- You can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or
Mexico.1
- You can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is your
qualifying child or
qualifying relative.
|
| Tests To Be a Qualifying Child | Tests To Be a Qualifying Relative |
- The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of
them.
- The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly), (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a student, and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly), or (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled.
- The child must have lived with you for more than half of the
year.2
- The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the
year.
- The child must not be filing a joint return for the year (unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).
If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. See
Qualifying Child of More Than One Person, later, to find out which person is the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
|
- The person can't be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other
taxpayer.
- The person either (a) must be related to you in one of the ways listed under
Relatives who don't have to live with you, or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your
household2 (and your relationship must not violate local law).
- The person's gross income for the year must be less than
$4,050.3
- You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the
year.4
|
| 1 There is an exception for certain adopted children.
|
| 2
There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died
during the year, children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live
apart), and kidnapped children.
|
| 3
There is an exception if the person is disabled and has income from a sheltered
workshop.
|
| 4
There are exceptions for multiple support agreements, children of divorced or
separated parents (or parents who live apart), and kidnapped children.
|
| Dependent not allowed a personal exemption.
If you can claim an exemption for your dependent, the dependent can't claim his
or her own personal exemption on his or her own tax return. This is true even if
you don't claim the dependent's exemption on your return. It is also true if the
dependent's exemption on your return is reduced or eliminated under the phaseout
rule described under
Phaseout of Exemptions, later. |
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220873 If these people work for you, you can't claim exemptions for them.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220874
You may be entitled to a child tax credit for each qualifying child who was
under age 17 at the end of the year if you claimed an exemption for that child.
For more information, see the instructions for the tax form you file (Form 1040
or 1040A).
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220875taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220876If you can be claimed as a dependent by another person, you can't claim anyone else as a dependent. Even if you have a qualifying child or qualifying relative, you can't claim that person as a
dependent.
If you are filing a joint return and your spouse can be claimed as a dependent by someone else, you and your spouse can't claim any dependents on your joint
return.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220877You generally can't claim a married person as a dependent if he or she files a joint return.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000291019
You can claim an exemption for a person who files a joint return if that person
and his or her spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax
withheld or estimated tax paid.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220878Example 1—child files joint return.(p13)
You supported your 18-year-old daughter, and she lived with you all year while
her husband was in the Armed Forces. He earned $25,000 for the year. The couple
files a joint return. You can't take an exemption for your daughter.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000239848Example 2—child files joint return only as claim for refund of withheld
tax.(p13)
Your 18-year-old son and his 17-year-old wife had $800 of wages from part-time
jobs and no other income. They lived with you all year. Neither is required to
file a tax return. They don't have a child. Taxes were taken out of their pay so
they file a joint return only to get a refund of the withheld taxes. The
exception to the joint return test applies, so you aren't disqualified from
claiming an exemption for each of them just because they file a joint return.
You can claim exemptions for each of them if all the other tests to do so are
met.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000263127Example 3—child files joint return to claim American opportunity
credit.(p13)
The facts are the same as in
Example 2
except no taxes were taken out of your son's pay or his wife's pay. However, they file a joint return to claim an American opportunity credit of $124 and get a refund of that amount. Because claiming the American opportunity credit is their reason for filing the return, they aren't filing it only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. The exception to the joint return test doesn't apply, so you can't claim an exemption for either of
them.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220881You generally can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. However, there is an exception for certain adopted children, as explained
next.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220882
If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national who has legally adopted a child who
isn't a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, or U.S. national, this test is met if
the child lived with you as a member of your household all year. This exception
also applies if the child was lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220883
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 and meet this test even if the other parent was a nonresident alien and the child was born in a foreign
country.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220884
Foreign students brought to this country under a qualified international
education exchange program and placed in American homes for a temporary period
generally aren't U.S. residents and don't meet this test. You can't 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 Pub.
526, Charitable Contributions.
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220886 | If a child meets the five tests to be the qualifying child of more than one person, there are rules you must use to determine which person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. See
Qualifying Child of More Than One Person, later. |
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220887To meet this test, a child must be:
- Your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant (for example, your grandchild) of any of them,
or
- Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant (for example, your niece or nephew) of any of
them.
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220889
A 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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220890To meet this test, a child must be:
- Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing
jointly),
- A student under age 24 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly),
or
- Permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of
age.
Your son turned 19 on December 10. Unless he was permanently and totally
disabled or a student, he doesn't meet the age test because, at the end of the
year, he wasn't
under age 19.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226253
To be your qualifying child, a child who isn't permanently and totally disabled
must be younger than you. However, if you are married filing jointly, the child
must be younger than you or your spouse but doesn't have to be younger than both
of you.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226254Example 1—child not younger than you or your spouse.(p13)
Your 23-year-old brother, who is a student and unmarried, lives with you and
your spouse, who provide more than half of his support. He isn't disabled. Both
you and your spouse are 21 years old, and you file a joint return. Your brother
isn't your qualifying child because he isn't younger than you or your spouse.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226255Example 2—child younger than your spouse but not younger than
you.(p13)
The facts are the same as in Example 1
except your spouse is 25 years old. Because your brother is younger than your
spouse and you and your spouse are filing a joint return, your brother is your
qualifying child, even though he isn't younger than you.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000281154
To qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part of each of any 5
calendar months of the year:
-
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
-
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 don't have to be consecutive.
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220895
A school can be an elementary school, junior or senior high school, college,
university, or technical, trade, or mechanical school. However, an on-the-job
training course, correspondence school, or school offering courses only through
the Internet doesn't count as a school.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220896
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220897
Your child is permanently and totally disabled if both of the following apply.
- He or she can't engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental
condition.
- 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 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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220899
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:
- Illness,
- Education,
- Business,
- Vacation,
- Military service, or
- Detention in a juvenile facility.
A child who was born or died during the year is treated as having lived with you
more than half the year if your home was the child's home more than half the
time he or she was alive during the year. The same is true if the child lived
with you more than half the year except for any required hospital stay following
birth.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220901
You may be able to claim an exemption for a child 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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220902 You can't claim an exemption for a stillborn child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220903
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.
- The child is presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who isn't a member of your family or the child's
family.
- 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 earliest of:
- The year the child is returned,
- The year there is a determination that the child is dead,
or
- The year the child would have reached age 18.
In most cases, because of the residency test, a child of divorced or separated
parents is the qualifying child of the custodial parent. However, the child will
be treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent if all four of the
following statements are true.
- The parents:
- Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate
maintenance,
- Are separated under a written separation agreement, or
- Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were
married.
- The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the
parents.
- The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the
year.
- Either of the following statements is true.
- The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she won't claim the child as a dependent for the year, and the noncustodial parent attaches this written declaration to his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went into effect after 1984 and before 2009, see
Post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce decree or separation agreement, later. If the decree or agreement went into effect after 2008, see
Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement, later.)
- A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate maintenance or written separation agreement that applies to 2016 states that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or agreement wasn't changed after 1984 to say the noncustodial parent can't claim the child as a dependent, and the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for the child's support during the
year.
If statements (1) through (4) are all true, only the noncustodial parent
can:
- Claim the child as a dependent, and
- Claim the child as a qualifying child for the child tax credit.
However, this doesn’t allow the noncustodial parent to claim head of
household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the
exclusion for dependent care benefits, the earned income credit, or the health
coverage tax credit. See
Applying the tiebreaker rules to divorced or separated parents (or parents who live
apart), later.
Example—earned income credit.(p14)
Even if statements (1) through (4) are all true and the custodial parent signs Form 8332 or a substantially similar statement that he or she won’t claim the child as a dependent for 2016, this doesn’t allow the noncustodial parent to claim the child as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. The custodial parent or another taxpayer, if eligible, can claim the child for the earned income
credit.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220906
The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater
number of nights during 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 number of nights during the rest of the
year.
A child is treated as living with a parent for a night if the child
sleeps:
- At that parent's home, whether or not the parent is present,
or
- In the company of the parent, when the child doesn't sleep at a parent's home (for example, the parent and child are on vacation together).
If the child lived with each parent for an equal number of nights during the
year, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income
(AGI).
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226257
The night of December 31 is treated as part of the year in which it begins. For
example, the night of December 31, 2016, is treated as part of 2016.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226258
If a child is emancipated under state law, the child is treated as not living
with either parent. See Examples
5 and
6.
If a child wasn't with either parent on a particular night (because, for
example, the child was staying at a friend's house), the child is treated as
living with the parent with whom the child normally would have lived for that
night, except for the absence. But if it can't be determined with which parent
the child normally would have lived or if the child would not have lived with
either parent that night, the child is treated as not living with either parent
that night.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226260
If, due to a parent's nighttime work schedule, a child lives for a greater
number of days, but not nights, with the parent who works at night, that parent
is treated as the custodial parent. On a school day, the child is treated as
living at the primary residence registered with the school.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226261Example 1—child lived with one parent for a greater number of
nights.(p14)
You and your child’s other parent are divorced. In 2016, your child lived
with you 210 nights and with the other parent 156 nights. You are the custodial
parent.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226262Example 2—child is away at camp.(p14)
In 2016, your daughter lives with each parent for alternate weeks. In the
summer, she spends 6 weeks at summer camp. During the time she is at camp, she
is treated as living with you for 3 weeks and with her other parent, your
ex-spouse, for 3 weeks because this is how long she would have lived with each
parent if she had not attended summer camp.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226263Example 3—child lived same number of nights with each
parent.(p14)
Your son lived with you 180 nights during the year and lived the same number of
nights with his other parent, your ex-spouse. Your AGI is $40,000. Your
ex-spouse's AGI is $25,000. You are treated as your son's custodial parent
because you have the higher AGI.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226264Example 4—child is at parent’s home but with other
parent.(p15)
Your son normally lives with you during the week and with his other parent, your
ex-spouse, every other weekend. You become ill and are hospitalized. The other
parent lives in your home with your son for 10 consecutive days while you are in
the hospital. Your son is treated as living with you during this 10-day period
because he was living in your home.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226265Example 5—child emancipated in May.(p15)
When your son turned age 18 in May 2016, he became emancipated under the law of
the state where he lives. As a result, he isn't considered in the custody of his
parents for more than half of the year. The special rule for children of
divorced or separated parents doesn't apply.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226266Example 6—child emancipated in August.(p15)
Your daughter lives with you from January 1, 2016, until May 31, 2016, and lives
with her other parent, your ex-spouse, from June 1, 2016, through the end of the
year. She turns 18 and is emancipated under state law on August 1, 2016. Because
she is treated as not living with either parent beginning on August 1, she is
treated as living with you the greater number of nights in 2016. You are the
custodial parent.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000236394
The custodial parent must use either Form 8332 or a similar statement
(containing the same information required by the form) to make the written
declaration to release the exemption to the noncustodial parent. The
noncustodial parent must attach a copy of the form or statement to his or her
tax return.
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220909
If the divorce decree or separation agreement went into effect after 1984 and
before 2009, the noncustodial parent may be able to attach certain pages from
the decree or agreement instead of Form 8332. The decree or agreement must state
all three of the following.
- The noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent without regard to any condition, such as payment of
support.
- The custodial parent won't claim the child as a dependent for the
year.
- The years for which the noncustodial parent, rather than the custodial parent, can claim the child as a
dependent.
The noncustodial parent must attach all of the following pages of the decree or agreement to his or her tax
return.
- The cover page (write the other parent's social security number on this
page).
- The pages that include all of the information identified in items (1) through (3)
above.
- The signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the
agreement.
The noncustodial parent can't attach pages from the decree or agreement instead
of Form 8332 if the decree or agreement went into effect after 2008. The
custodial parent must sign either Form 8332 or a similar statement whose only
purpose is to release the custodial parent's claim to an exemption for a child,
and the noncustodial parent must attach a copy to his or her return. The form or
statement must release the custodial parent's claim to the child without any
conditions. For example, the release must not depend on the noncustodial parent
paying support.
| The noncustodial parent must attach the required information even if it was filed with a return in an earlier
year. |
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226267
The custodial parent can revoke a release of claim to an exemption. For the
revocation to be effective for 2016, the custodial parent must have given (or
made reasonable efforts to give) written notice of the revocation to the
noncustodial parent in 2015 or earlier. The custodial parent can use Part III of
Form 8332 for this purpose and must attach a copy of the revocation to his or
her return for each tax year he or she claims the child as a dependent as a
result of the revocation.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220912
If you remarry, the support provided by your new spouse is treated as provided
by you.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220913
This rule for divorced or separated parents also applies to parents who never
married and lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220914To meet this test, the child can't 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 isn't support, see
Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Relative), later. If you aren't sure whether a child provided more than half of his or her own support, you may find
Worksheet 2 helpful.
You provided $4,000 toward your 16-year-old son's support for the year. He has a
part-time job and provided $6,000 to his own support. He provided more than half
of his own support for the year. He isn't your qualifying child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000253691
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 aren't 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 aren't considered support you provided. For more information about the deduction for charitable contributions, see Pub.
526. If your unreimbursed expenses aren't deductible as charitable contributions, they may qualify as support you
provided.
If you are in the trade or business of providing foster care, your unreimbursed expenses aren't considered support provided by
you.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000253692
Lauren, a 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 didn't care for her as a
trade or business or to benefit the agency that placed her in their home. The
Smiths' unreimbursed expenses aren't deductible as charitable contributions but
are considered support they provided for Lauren.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000250282
You provided $3,000 toward your 10-year-old foster child's support for the year.
The state government provided $4,000, which is considered support provided by
the state, not by the child. See
Support provided by the state (welfare, food benefits, housing,
etc.), later. Your foster child didn't provide more than half of her own support for the
year.
A scholarship received by a child who is a student isn't taken into account in
determining whether the child provided more than half of his or her own support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226268To meet this test, the child can't file a joint return for the year.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000239852
An exception to the joint return test applies if your child and his or her
spouse file a joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or
estimated tax paid.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226269Example 1—child files joint return.(p15)
You supported your 18-year-old daughter, and she lived with you all year while
her husband was in the Armed Forces. He earned $25,000 for the year. The couple
files a joint return. Because your daughter and her husband file a joint return,
she isn't your qualifying child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000292527
Worksheet 2. Worksheet for Determining Support| Funds Belonging to the Person You Supported | | | |
| 1. | Enter the total funds belonging to the person you supported, including income received (taxable and nontaxable) and amounts borrowed during the year, plus the amount in savings and other accounts at the beginning of the year. Don't include funds provided by the state; include those amounts on line 23 instead
| 1. | | |
| 2. | Enter the amount on line 1 that was used for the person's
support | 2. | | |
| 3. | Enter the amount on line 1 that was used for other purposes | 3. | | |
| 4. | Enter the total amount in the person's savings and other accounts at the end of the
year | 4. | | |
| 5. | Add lines 2 through 4. (This amount should equal line 1.) | 5. | | |
| Expenses for Entire Household (where the person you supported lived)
| | | |
| 6. | Lodging (complete line 6a or 6b): | | | |
| |
a. Enter the total rent paid
| 6a. | | |
| |
b.
Enter the fair rental value of the home. If the person you supported owned the
home,
also include this amount in line 21
| 6b. | | |
| 7. | Enter the total food expenses | 7. | | |
| 8. | Enter the total amount of utilities (heat, light, water, etc. not included in line 6a or
6b) | 8. | | |
| 9. | Enter the total amount of repairs (not included in line 6a or
6b) | 9. | | |
| 10. | Enter the total of other expenses. Don't include expenses of maintaining the home, such as mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and insurance
| 10. | | |
| 11. | Add lines 6a through 10. These are the total household expenses | 11. | | |
| 12. | Enter total number of persons who lived in the household | 12. | | |
| Expenses for the Person You Supported | | | |
| 13. | Divide line 11 by line 12. This is the person's share of the household
expenses | 13. | | |
| 14. | Enter the person's total clothing expenses | 14. | | |
| 15. | Enter the person's total education expenses | 15. | | |
| 16. | Enter the person's total medical and dental expenses not paid for or reimbursed by
insurance | 16. | | |
| 17. | Enter the person's total travel and recreation expenses | 17. | | |
| 18. | Enter the total of the person's other expenses | 18. | | |
| 19. | Add lines 13 through 18. This is the total cost of the person's support for the
year | 19. | | |
| Did the Person Provide More Than Half of His or Her Own Support? | | | |
| 20. | Multiply line 19 by 50% (0.50) | 20. | | |
| 21. | Enter the amount from line 2, plus the amount from line 6b if the person you supported owned
the home. This is the amount the person provided for his or her own support
| 21. | | |
| 22. | Is line 21 more than line 20?
No.
You meet the support test for this person to be your qualifying child. If this
person also meets the other tests to be a qualifying child, stop here; don't
complete lines 23–26. Otherwise, go to line 23 and fill out the rest of
the worksheet to determine if this person is your qualifying relative.
Yes.
You don't meet the support test for this person to be either your qualifying
child or your qualifying relative.
Stop here.
| |
| | Did You Provide More Than Half? | | | |
| 23. | Enter the amount others provided for the person's support. Include amounts provided by state, local, and other welfare societies or agencies. Don't include any amounts included on line 1
| 23. | | |
| 24. | Add lines 21 and 23 | 24. | | |
| 25. | Subtract line 24 from line 19. This is the amount you provided for the person's
support | 25. | | |
| 26. | Is line 25 more than line 20?
Yes.
You meet the support test for this person to be your qualifying
relative.
No.
You don't meet the support test for this person to be your qualifying relative. You can't claim an exemption for this person unless you can do so under a multiple support agreement, the support test for children of divorced or separated parents, or the special rule for kidnapped children. See
Multiple Support Agreement,
Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents (or Parents Who Live
Apart), or
Kidnapped child under
Qualifying Relative.
| |
Example 2—child files joint return only as claim for refund of withheld
tax.(p15)
Your 18-year-old son and his 17-year-old wife had $800 of wages from part-time
jobs and no other income. They lived with you all year. Neither is required to
file a tax return. They don't have a child. Taxes were taken out of their pay so
they file a joint return only to get a refund of the withheld taxes. The
exception to the joint return test applies, so your son may be your qualifying
child if all the other tests are met.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000263128Example 3—child files joint return to claim American opportunity
credit.(p15)
The facts are the same as in Example 2
except no taxes were taken out of your son's pay or his wife's pay. However, they file a joint return to claim an American opportunity credit of $124 and get a refund of that amount. Because claiming the American opportunity credit is their reason for filing the return, they aren't filing it only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. The exception to the joint return test doesn't apply, so your son isn't your qualifying
child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220917 | If your qualifying child isn't a qualifying child of anyone else, this topic doesn't apply to you and you don't need to read about it. This is also true if your qualifying child isn't a qualifying child of anyone else except your spouse with whom you plan to file a joint
return. |
Sometimes, a child meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return 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 take all of the following tax benefits (provided the person is eligible for each
benefit).
- The exemption for the child.
- The child tax credit.
- Head of household filing status.
- The credit for child and dependent care expenses.
- The exclusion from income for dependent care benefits.
- The earned income credit.
The other person can’t take any of these benefits based on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the other person can’t agree to divide these tax benefits between you. The other person can’t take any of these benefits for a child unless he or she has a different qualifying
child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226272
To determine which person can treat the child as a qualifying child to claim
these six tax benefits, the following tiebreaker rules apply.
- If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the
parent.
- If the parents file a joint return together and can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the
parents.
- If the parents don't file a joint return together but both parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year. If the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for the
year.
- If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the
year.
- If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the year, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child. If the child's parents file a joint return with each other, this rule can be applied by dividing the parents' combined AGI equally between the parents. See
Example 6.
Subject to these tiebreaker rules, you and the other person may be able to choose which of you claims the child as a qualifying
child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226273Example 1—child lived with parent and grandparent.(p17)
You and your 3-year-old daughter Jane lived with your mother all year. You are
25 years old, unmarried, and your AGI is $9,000. Your mother's AGI is $15,000.
Jane's father didn't live with you or your daughter. You haven't signed Form
8832 (or a similar statement) to release the child's exemption to the
noncustodial parent.
Jane is a qualifying child of both you and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only one of you can claim her. Jane isn't a qualifying child of anyone else, including her father. You agree to let your mother claim Jane. This means your mother can claim Jane as a qualifying child for all of the six tax benefits listed earlier, if she qualifies for each of those benefits (and if you don't claim Jane as a qualifying child for any of those tax
benefits).
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226274Example 2—parent has higher AGI than grandparent.(p17)
The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except your AGI is $18,000. Because your mother's AGI isn't higher than yours,
she can't claim Jane. Only you can claim Jane.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226275Example 3—two persons claim same child.(p17)
The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except you and your mother both claim Jane as a qualifying child. In this case,
you, as the child's parent, will be the only one allowed to claim Jane as a
qualifying child. The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the six tax
benefits listed earlier unless she has another qualifying child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226276Example 4—qualifying children split between two persons.(p17)
The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except 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. However, if your
mother's AGI is higher than yours, you can allow your mother to claim one or
more of the children. For example, if you claim one child, your mother can claim
the other two.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226277Example 5—taxpayer who is a qualifying child.(p17)
The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except you are only 18 years old and didn't provide more than half of your own
support for the year. This means you are your mother's qualifying child. If she
can claim you as a dependent, then you can't claim your daughter as a dependent
because of the
Dependent Taxpayer Test explained earlier.
Example 6—child lived with both parents and grandparent.(p17)
The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except you are married to your daughter's father. The two of you live with your
daughter and your mother and have AGI of $20,000 on a joint return. If you and
your husband don't claim your daughter as a qualifying child, your mother can
claim her instead. Even though the AGI on your joint return, $20,000, is more
than your mother's AGI of $15,000, for this purpose each parent's AGI can be
treated as $10,000, so your mother's $15,000 AGI is treated as higher than the
AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226279Example 7—separated parents.(p17)
You, your husband, and your 10-year-old son lived together until August 1, 2016,
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, the
boy's father. 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, support, and joint return tests for both of you.
At the end of the year, you and your husband still weren't divorced, legally
separated, or separated under a written separation agreement, so the rule for
children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) doesn't
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 doesn't claim your son as a qualifying child, you can claim your son as a qualifying child for the dependency exemption, child tax credit, and exclusion for dependent care benefits (assuming you otherwise qualify for each of those tax benefits). However, you can't claim head of household filing status because you and your husband didn't live apart for the last 6 months of the year. As a result, your filing status is married filing separately, so you can't claim the earned income credit or the credit for child and dependent care
expenses.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226280Example 8—separated parents claim same child.
(p17)
The facts are the same as in
Example 7
except you and your husband both claim your son as a qualifying child. In this
case, only your husband will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child.
This is because, during 2016, the boy lived with him longer than with you. If
you claimed an exemption or the child tax credit for your son, the IRS will
disallow your claim to both these tax benefits. If you don't have another
qualifying child or dependent, the IRS will also disallow your claim to the
exclusion for dependent care benefits. In addition, because you and your husband
didn't live apart for the last 6 months of the year, your husband can't claim
head of household filing status. As a result, his filing status is married
filing separately, so he can't claim the earned income credit or the credit for
child and dependent care expenses.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226281Example 9—unmarried parents.(p18)
You, your 5-year-old son, and your son's father lived together all year. You and
your son's father aren't married. Your son is a qualifying child of both you and
his father because he meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint
return tests for both you and his father. Your AGI is $12,000 and your son's
father's AGI is $14,000. Your son's father agrees to let you claim the child as
a qualifying child. This means you can claim him as a qualifying child for the
dependency exemption, child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit
for child and dependent care expenses, exclusion for dependent care benefits,
and the earned income credit, if you qualify for each of those tax benefits (and
if your son's father doesn't claim your son as a qualifying child for any of
those tax benefits).
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226282Example 10—unmarried parents claim same child.(p18)
The facts are the same as in
Example 9
except you and your son's father both claim your son as a qualifying child. In
this case, only your son's father will be allowed to treat your son as a
qualifying child. This is because his AGI, $14,000, is more than your AGI,
$12,000. If you claimed an exemption or the child tax credit for your son, the
IRS will disallow your claim to both these tax benefits. If you don't have
another qualifying child or dependent, the IRS will also disallow your claim to
the earned income credit, head of household filing status, the credit for child
and dependent care expenses, and the exclusion for dependent care benefits.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226283Example 11—child didn't live with a parent.(p18)
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's parents file jointly, have an AGI of less than $9,000, and
don't live with you or their child. Your niece is a qualifying child of both you
and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and
joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only your mother can
treat her as a qualifying child. This is because your mother's AGI, $15,000, is
more than your AGI, $9,300.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220936
If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under
the rules described earlier for
children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live
apart), only the noncustodial parent can claim an exemption and the child tax credit for the child. However, only the custodial parent can claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses or the exclusion for dependent care benefits for the child, and only the custodial parent can treat the child as a dependent for the health coverage tax credit. Also, the noncustodial parent can't claim the child as a qualifying child for head of household filing status or the earned income credit. Instead, the custodial parent, if eligible, or other eligible person can claim the child as a qualifying child for those two benefits. If the child is the qualifying child of more than one person for these benefits, then the tiebreaker rules determine whether the custodial parent or another eligible person can treat the child as a qualifying
child.
You and your 5-year-old son lived all year with your mother, who paid the entire
cost of keeping up the home. Your AGI is $10,000. Your mother's AGI is $25,000.
Your son's father didn't live with you or your son.
Under the rules explained earlier for children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart), your son is treated as the qualifying child of his father, who can claim an exemption and the child tax credit for him. Because of this, you can't claim an exemption or the child tax credit for your son. However, those rules don't allow your son's father to claim your son as a qualifying child for head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, the earned income credit, or the health coverage tax credit.
You and your mother didn't have any child care expenses or dependent care benefits, so neither of you can claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses or the exclusion for dependent care benefits. Also, neither of you qualifies for the health coverage tax credit. But the boy is a qualifying child of both you and your mother for head of household filing status and the earned income credit because he meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. (The support test doesn't apply for the earned income credit.) However, you agree to let your mother claim your son. This means she can claim him for head of household filing status and the earned income credit if she qualifies for each and if you don't claim him as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. (You can't claim head of household filing status because your mother paid the entire cost of keeping up the
home.)
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000226284 The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except your AGI is $25,000 and your mother's AGI is $21,000. Your mother can't
claim your son as a qualifying child for any purpose because her AGI isn't
higher than yours.
The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except you and your mother both claim your son as a qualifying child for the
earned income credit. Your mother also claims him as a qualifying child for head
of household filing status. You, as the child's parent, will be the only one
allowed to claim your son as a qualifying child for the earned income credit.
The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the earned income credit and head
of household filing status unless she has another qualifying child.
Unlike a qualifying child, a qualifying relative can be any age. There is no age
test for a qualifying relative.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220941
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 isn't 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 earliest of:
- The year the child is returned,
- The year there is a determination that the child is dead,
or
- The year the child would have reached age 18.
A child isn't your qualifying relative if the child is your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other
taxpayer.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220943
Your 22-year-old daughter, who is a student, lives with you and meets all the
tests to be your qualifying child. She isn't your qualifying relative.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220944
Your 2-year-old son lives with your parents and meets all the tests to be their
qualifying child. He isn't your qualifying relative.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220945
Your son lives with you but isn't your qualifying child because he is 30 years
old and doesn't meet the age test. He may be your qualifying relative if the
gross income test and the support test are met.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220946
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 isn't your qualifying
child because he doesn't meet the residency test. He may be your qualifying
relative if the gross income test and the support test are met.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220947
A child isn't the qualifying child of any other taxpayer and so may qualify as
your qualifying relative if the child's parent (or other person for whom the
child is defined as a qualifying child) isn't required to file an income tax
return and either:
- Doesn't file an income tax return, or
- Files a return only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax
paid.
Example 1—return not required.(p18)
You support an unrelated friend and her 3-year-old child, who lived with you all
year in your home. Your friend has no gross income, isn't required to file a
2016 tax return, and doesn't file a 2016 tax return. Both your friend and her
child are your qualifying relatives if the support test is met.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220949Example 2—return filed to claim refund.(p19)
The facts are the same as in
Example 1
except your friend had wages of $1,500 during the year and had income tax
withheld from her wages. She files a return only to get a refund of the income
tax withheld and doesn't claim the earned income credit or any other tax credits
or deductions. Both your friend and her child are your qualifying relatives if
the support test is met.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220950Example 3—earned income credit claimed.(p19)
The facts are the same as in
Example 2
except your friend had wages of $8,000 during the year and claimed the earned
income credit on her return. Your friend's child is the qualifying child of
another taxpayer (your friend), so you can't claim your friend's child as your
qualifying relative. Also, you can't claim your friend as your qualifying
relative because of the gross income test explained later.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220951
You may be able to claim your child as a dependent even if the child lives in
Canada or Mexico. If the child doesn't live with you, the child doesn't meet the
residency test to be your qualifying child. However, the child may still be your
qualifying relative. If the persons the child does live with aren't U.S.
citizens and have no U.S. gross income, those persons aren't "taxpayers," so the
child isn't the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. If the child isn't the
qualifying child of any other taxpayer, the child is your qualifying relative as
long as the gross income test and the support test are met.
You can't claim as a dependent a child who lives in a foreign country other than Canada or Mexico, unless the child is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, or U.S. national. There is an exception for certain adopted children who lived with you all year. See
Citizen or Resident Test, earlier.
You provide all the support of your children, ages 6, 8, and 12, who live in
Mexico with your mother and have no income. You are single and live in the
United States. Your mother isn't a U.S. citizen and has no U.S. income, so she
isn't a "taxpayer." Your children aren't your qualifying children because they
don't meet the residency test. But because they aren't the qualifying children
of any other taxpayer, they are your qualifying relatives and you can claim them
as dependents. You may also be able to claim your mother as a dependent if the
gross income and support tests are met.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220954To 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 don't have to live with you.
If at any time during the year the person was your spouse, that person can't be your qualifying relative. However, see
Personal Exemptions, earlier.
A person related to you in any of the following ways doesn't have to live with
you all year as a member of your household to meet this test.
- Your child, stepchild, 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.
- Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
- Your stepfather or stepmother.
- A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
- A son or daughter of your half brother or half sister.
- A brother or sister of your father or mother.
- 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 aren't ended by
death or divorce.
You and your wife began supporting your wife's father, a widower, in 2010. Your
wife died in 2015. Despite your wife's death, your father-in-law continues to
meet this test, even if he doesn't live with you. You can claim him as a
dependent if all other tests are met, including the gross income test and
support test.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220959
A 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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220960
If you file a joint return, the person can be related to either you or your
spouse. Also, the person doesn't 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 doesn't 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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220961
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,
- Military service, or
- Detention in a juvenile facility.
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220962
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 qualify to claim an exemption for the dependent, you can still claim the
exemption.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220963
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220964
A person doesn't meet this test if at any time during the year the relationship
between you and that person violates local law.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220965
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 doesn't meet this test
and you can't claim her as a dependent.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220966
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220967
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220968To meet this test, a person's gross income for the year must be less than
$4,050.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220969
Gross income is all income in the form of money, property, and services that
isn't 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. Don't deduct taxes, repairs, or other expenses to determine the gross income from rental property.
Gross income includes a partner's share of the gross (not net) partnership income.
Gross income also includes all taxable unemployment compensation and certain
scholarship and fellowship grants. Scholarships received by degree candidates
and used for tuition, fees, supplies, books, and equipment required for
particular courses generally aren't included in gross income. For more
information about scholarships, see chapter 1 of Pub.
970.
Tax-exempt income, such as certain social security benefits, isn't included in gross income.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220970
For purposes of the gross income test, the gross income of an individual who is
permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year doesn't 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.
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.
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 2
helpful in figuring whether you provided more than half of a person's support.
A person's own funds aren't support unless they are actually spent for support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220976
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 ($2,400 + $300), she spent only $2,400 ($2,000 + $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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220977
You can't include in your contribution to your child's support any support paid
for by the child with the child's own wages, even if you paid the wages.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220978
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220979
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220980
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220981
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220982
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220983
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 can't claim an
exemption for your mother because the $4,000 you provide isn't more than half of
her total support of $9,600 ($4,000 + $600 + $4,800 + $200).
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220984
Your niece 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 can't claim an exemption for her because you provide less
than half of her support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220985
If spouses 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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220986Benefits 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 won't be considered as used entirely for that person's support if it is shown that part of the payments weren't used for that
purpose.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220987
Payments you receive for the support of a foster child from a child placement
agency are considered support provided by the agency. See
Foster care payments and expenses, earlier.
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220990To 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 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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220991
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
| 2,400
|
| Medical expenses
| 1,200
|
| Share of food (1/5 of $5,200)
| 1,040
|
| Total support | $6,440
|
The support Frank and Mary provide ($1,800 lodging + $1,200 medical expenses + $1,040 food = $4,040) is more than half of Grace's $6,440 total
support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220993
Your parents live with you, your spouse, and your two children in a house you
own. The fair rental value of your parents' share of the lodging is $2,000 a
year ($1,000 each), which includes furnishings and utilities. Your father
receives a nontaxable pension of $4,200, which he spends equally between your
mother and himself for items of support such as clothing, transportation, and
recreation. Your total food expense for the household is $6,000. Your heat and
utility bills amount to $1,200. Your mother has hospital and medical expenses of
$600, which you pay during the year. Figure your parents' total support as
follows:
| Support provided
| Father
| Mother
|
| Fair rental value of lodging
| $1,000
| $1,000
|
| Pension spent for their support
| 2,100
| 2,100
|
| Share of food (1/6 of $6,000)
| 1,000
| 1,000
|
| Medical expenses for mother
| | 600
|
| Parents' total support | $4,100
| $4,700
|
You must apply the support test separately to each parent. You provide $2,000 ($1,000 lodging + $1,000 food) of your father's total support of $4,100 — less than half. You provide $2,600 to your mother ($1,000 lodging + $1,000 food + $600 medical) — more than half of her total support of $4,700. You meet the support test for your mother, but not your father. Heat and utility costs are included in the fair rental value of the lodging, so these aren't considered
separately.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220995
If you provide a person with lodging, you are considered to provide support
equal to the fair rental value of the room, apartment, house, or other shelter
in which the person lives. Fair rental value includes a reasonable allowance for
the use of furniture and appliances, and for heat and other utilities that are
provided.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220996
Fair rental value is the amount you could reasonably expect to receive from a
stranger for the same kind of lodging. It is used instead of actual expenses
such as taxes, interest, depreciation, paint, insurance, utilities, and the cost
of furniture and appliances. In some cases, fair rental value may be equal to
the rent paid.
If you provide the total lodging, the amount of support you provide is the fair rental value of the room the person uses, or a share of the fair rental value of the entire dwelling if the person has use of your entire home. If you don't provide the total lodging, the total fair rental value must be divided depending on how much of the total lodging you provide. If you provide only a part and the person supplies the rest, the fair rental value must be divided between both of you according to the amount each provides.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220997
Your parents live rent free in a house you own. It has a fair rental value of
$5,400 a year furnished, which includes a fair rental value of $3,600 for the
house and $1,800 for the furniture. This doesn't include heat and utilities. The
house is completely furnished with furniture belonging to your parents. You pay
$600 for their utility bills. Utilities aren't usually included in rent for
houses in the area where your parents live. Therefore, you consider the total
fair rental value of the lodging to be $6,000 ($3,600 fair rental value of the
unfurnished house + $1,800 allowance for the furnishings provided by your
parents + $600 cost of utilities) of which you are considered to provide $4,200
($3,600 + $600).
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220998
The total fair rental value of a person's home that he or she owns is considered
support contributed by that person.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000220999
If you live with a person rent free in his or her home, you must reduce the
amount you provide for support of that person by the fair rental value of
lodging he or she provides you.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221000
Property provided as support is measured by its fair market value. Fair market
value is the price that property would sell for on the open market. It is the
price that would be agreed upon between a willing buyer and a willing seller,
with neither being required to act, and both having reasonable knowledge of the
relevant facts.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221001
Capital items, such as furniture, appliances, and cars, bought for a person
during the year can be included in total support under certain circumstances.
The following examples show when a capital item is or isn't support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221002
You buy a $200 power lawn mower for your 13-year-old child. The child is given
the duty of keeping the lawn trimmed. Because the lawn mower benefits all
members of the household, don't include the cost of the lawn mower in the
support of your child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221003
You buy a $150 television set as a birthday present for your 12-year-old child.
The television set is placed in your child's bedroom. You can include the cost
of the television set in the support of your child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221004
You pay $5,000 for a car and register it in your name. You and your 17-year-old
daughter use the car equally. Because you own the car and don't give it to your
daughter but merely let her use it, don't include the cost of the car in your
daughter's total support. However, you can include in your daughter's support
your out-of-pocket expenses of operating the car for her benefit.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221005
Your 17-year-old son, using personal funds, buys a car for $4,500. You provide
the rest of your son's support — $4,000. Because the car is bought and
owned by your son, the car's fair market value ($4,500) must be included in his
support. Your son has provided more than half of his own total support of $8,500
($4,500 + $4,000), so he isn't your qualifying child. You didn't provide more
than half of his total support, so he isn't your qualifying relative. You can't
claim an exemption for your son.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221006
Medical insurance premiums you pay, including premiums for supplementary
Medicare coverage, are included in the support you provide.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221007
Medical insurance benefits, including basic and supplementary Medicare benefits,
aren't part of support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221008
Amounts veterans receive under the GI Bill for tuition payments and allowances
while they attend school are included in total support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221009
During the year, your son receives $2,200 from the government under the GI Bill.
He uses this amount for his education. You provide the rest of his support
— $2,000. Because GI benefits are included in total support, your son's
total support is $4,200 ($2,200 + $2,000). You haven't provided more than half
of his support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221010
If you pay someone to provide child or dependent care, you can include these
payments in the amount you provided for the support of your child or disabled
dependent, even if you claim a credit for the payments. For information on the
credit, see Pub.
503.
Other items may be considered as support depending on the facts in each case.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221012The following items aren't included in total support.
- Federal, state, and local income taxes paid by persons from their own income.
- Social security and Medicare taxes paid by persons from their own income.
- Life insurance premiums.
- Funeral expenses.
- Scholarships received by your child if your child is a student.
- Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance payments used for the support of the child who receives them.
Sometimes no one provides more than half of the support of a person. Instead, two or more persons, each of whom would be able to take the exemption but for the support test, together provide more than half of the person's
support.
When this happens, you can agree that any one of you who individually provides more than 10% of the person's support, but only one, can claim an exemption for that person as a qualifying relative. Each of the others must sign a statement agreeing not to claim the exemption for that year. The person who claims the exemption must keep these signed statements for his or her records. A multiple support declaration identifying each of the others who agreed not to claim the exemption must be attached to the return of the person claiming the exemption. Form 2120, Multiple Support Declaration, can be used for this purpose.
You can claim an exemption under a multiple support agreement for someone related to you or for someone who lived with you all year as a member of your
household.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221014
You, your sister, and your two brothers provide the entire support of your
mother for the year. You provide 45%, your sister 35%, and your two brothers
each provide 10%. Either you or your sister can claim an exemption for your
mother. The other must sign a statement agreeing not to take an exemption for
your mother. The one who claims the exemption must attach Form 2120, or a
similar declaration, to his or her return and must keep the statement signed by
the other for his or her records. Because neither brother provides more than 10%
of the support, neither can take the exemption and neither has to sign a
statement.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221015
You and your brother each provide 20% of your mother's support for the year. The
remaining 60% of her support is provided equally by two persons who aren't
related to her. She doesn't live with them. Because more than half of her
support is provided by persons who can't claim an exemption for her, no one can
take the exemption.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221016
Your father lives with you and receives 25% of his support from social security,
40% from you, 24% from his brother (your uncle), and 11% from a friend. Either
you or your uncle can take the exemption for your father if the other signs a
statement agreeing not to. The one who takes the exemption must attach Form
2120, or a similar declaration, to his return and must keep for his records the
signed statement from the one agreeing not to take the exemption.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221017In most cases, a child of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) will be a qualifying child of one of the parents. See
Children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live
apart) under
Qualifying Child,
earlier. However, if the child doesn't meet the requirements to be a qualifying
child of either parent, the child may be a qualifying relative of one of the
parents. In that case, the following rules must be used in applying the support
test.
A child will be treated as being the qualifying relative of his or her noncustodial parent if all four of the following statements are
true.
- The parents:
- Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate
maintenance,
- Are separated under a written separation agreement, or
- Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were
married.
- The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents (and the rules on multiple support agreements, explained earlier, don't
apply).
- The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the
year.
- Either of the following statements is true.
- The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she won't claim the child as a dependent for the year, and the noncustodial parent attaches this written declaration to his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went into effect after 1984 and before 2009, see
Post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce decree or separation agreement, later. If the decree or agreement went into effect after 2008, see
Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement, later.)
- A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate maintenance or written separation agreement that applies to 2016 states that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or agreement wasn't changed after 1984 to say the noncustodial parent can't claim the child as a dependent, and the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for the child's support during the
year.
The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater
number of nights during 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 number of nights during the rest of the year.
A child is treated as living with a parent for a night if the child
sleeps:
- At that parent's home, whether or not the parent is present,
or
- In the company of the parent, when the child doesn't sleep at a parent's home (for example, the parent and child are on vacation together).
If the child lived with each parent for an equal number of nights during the
year, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000228055
The night of December 31 is treated as part of the year in which it begins. For
example, the night of December 31, 2016, is treated as part of 2016.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000228056
If a child is emancipated under state law, the child is treated as not living
with either parent.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000228057
If a child wasn't with either parent on a particular night (because, for
example, the child was staying at a friend's house), the child is treated as
living with the parent with whom the child normally would have lived for that
night. But if it can't be determined with which parent the child normally would
have lived or if the child wouldn't have lived with either parent that night,
the child is treated as not living with either parent that night.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000228058
If, due to a parent's nighttime work schedule, a child lives for a greater
number of days, but not nights, with the parent who works at night, that parent
is treated as the custodial parent. On a school day, the child is treated as
living at the primary residence registered with the school.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221023
The custodial parent must use either Form 8332 or a similar statement
(containing the same information required by the form) to make the written
declaration to release the exemption to the noncustodial parent. The
noncustodial parent must attach a copy of the form or statement to his or her
tax return.
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.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221024
If the divorce decree or separation agreement went into effect after 1984 and
before 2009, the noncustodial parent may be able to attach certain pages from
the decree or agreement instead of Form 8332. The decree or agreement must state
all three of the following.
- The noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent without regard to any condition, such as payment of
support.
- The custodial parent won't claim the child as a dependent for the
year.
- The years for which the noncustodial parent, rather than the custodial parent, can claim the child as a
dependent.
The noncustodial parent must attach all of the following pages of the decree or agreement to his or her tax
return.
- The cover page (write the other parent's social security number on this
page).
- The pages that include all of the information identified in items (1) through (3)
above.
- The signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the
agreement.
The noncustodial parent can't attach pages from the decree or agreement to the
tax return instead of Form 8332 if the decree or agreement went into effect
after 2008. The custodial parent must sign either Form 8332 or a similar
statement whose only purpose is to release the custodial parent's claim to an
exemption for a child, and the noncustodial parent must attach a copy to his or
her return. The form or statement must release the custodial parent's claim to
the child without any conditions. For example, the release must not depend on
the noncustodial parent paying support.
| The noncustodial parent must attach the required information even if it was filed with a return in an earlier
year. |
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000250286
The custodial parent can revoke a release of claim to an exemption that he or
she previously released to the noncustodial parent. For the revocation to be
effective for 2016, the custodial parent must have given (or made reasonable
efforts to give) written notice of the revocation to the noncustodial parent in
2015 or earlier. The custodial parent can use Part III of Form 8332 for this
purpose and must attach a copy of the revocation to his or her return for each
tax year he or she claims the child as a dependent as a result of the
revocation.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221027
If you remarry, the support provided by your new spouse is treated as provided
by you.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221028
All child support payments actually received from the noncustodial parent under
a pre-1985 agreement are considered used for the support of the child.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221029
Under a pre-1985 agreement, the noncustodial parent provides $1,200 for the
child's support. This amount is considered support provided by the noncustodial
parent even if the $1,200 was actually spent on things other than support.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221030
Payments to a spouse that are includible in the spouse's gross income as either
alimony, separate maintenance payments, or similar payments from an estate or
trust, aren't treated as a payment for the support of a dependent.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221031
This special rule for divorced or separated parents also applies to parents who
never married and lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year.
taxmap/pubs/p501-004.htm#en_us_publink1000221032
If the support of the child is determined under a multiple support agreement,
this special support test for divorced or separated parents (or parents who live
apart) doesn't apply.
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