Dependents

A dependent can be either a:

1) Qualifying child or

2) Qualifying relative. [IRC §152(a)]

Claiming a Dependent— (See discussion in this section for details)
A taxpayer cannot claim any dependents if he, or his spouse if filing jointly, can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. To claim a person as a dependent, that person must be: 1) Unmarried or if married, does not file a joint return. 2) A U.S. citizen, resident or national or a resident of Canada or Mexico. 3)Either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative.
Qualifying Child	Qualifying Relative
The person must: 1) Be the taxpayer’s child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or descendant of any of them. 2) Be either under age 19, a full-time student under age 24 or any age if totally and permanently disabled. 3) Have lived with the taxpayer more than half the year. 4) Not have provided more than half of his or her own support. 5) Not be a claimed qualifying child of another taxpayer with higher priority under the tie-breaker rules.	The person must: 1) Not be the taxpayer’s or anyone else’s qualifying child. 2) Either (a) have lived with the taxpayer all year as a member of his household or (b) be related to the taxpayer. 3) Have gross income less than $3,300. The taxpayer must: 1) Provide more than half of the person’s total support for the year.