Helpful tips 

Can a relative be a friend?

Joe Ford

Can a relative be a friend?

No, ‘relatives’ is only used for family connections – as Sandrah says, by either blood or marriage. You can’t use it to talk about friends. “relatives” refers to the people in your family. It could be a blood connection like your parents, siblings, uncles, etc or by marriage like your parents in law, for example.

Can my sister claim my child on her taxes?

If your sister is your dependent, she can’t claim any dependents of her own, including her child. You can claim her child if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is higher than your sister’s AGI, and she doesn’t claim him.

Can I put my sister as a dependent?

The IRS says you can claim children as dependents as long as they meet the following requirements: The child must be related to you. For example, your son or daughter, stepson or stepdaughter, brother or sister, stepbrother or stepsister, nephew or niece, or grandchild can be considered a dependent.

Does a qualifying relative have to live with you?

The qualifying relative must either live in the taxpayer’s household all year or be related to the taxpayer as a child, sibling, parent, grandparent, niece or nephew, aunt or uncle, certain in-law, or certain step-relative.

How long does a qualifying relative have to live with you?

Under the qualifying child rules: Your qualifying dependent must live with you for more than half the year. The qualifying dependent must be one of these: Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if married filing jointly)

Can you claim someone as a dependent over 18?

You can claim someone older than 18 as a dependent if you meet the requirement of the law. If the individual is your child, you can claim them if they are a full-time college student and they do not provide more than half of their own support. (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)

Who qualifies as an adult dependent?

There are two dependent requirements wherein you can claim your adult child over the age 24 as a dependent: If your child is permanently and totally disabled. If your child’s gross income is less than $4,300 for the year, and you provided more than half of his total support for the year.