A question you might ask yourself when tax season rolls around is, “Can I claim anyone as a dependent?” Most people assume if you don’t have any children you won’t have any dependents. However, that may not be the case! Let’s find out if there is anyone you can claim as a dependent.
Children
Yes, this is a common dependent that generally everyone knows about, but let’s take a minute to look a little further into it. What children can you claim as a dependent? Here are factors to look at:
- Relationship – The child must be yours, a foster child, adopted child, step child, brother, sister, or a decedent of any of these.
- Location – The child must be living with you for more than six months.
- Age – The child must be 18 years or younger as of December 31st of the tax year. However, there is one exception: if your child is 24 years old or younger and attends school full-time for at least five months of the tax year, you can claim them as a dependent.
- Support – You provide at least half of your child’s support – meaning food, shelter, and clothing.
Relative
If you have a relative that’s in your care and doesn’t fall under the above, you may be able to claim them as a dependent, as long as they qualify for the following:
- Income – They earn less than $4,050 in 2017.
- Support – You provide more than half of their support for the year – meaning food, shelter and clothing.
- Relationship – They are a relative of yours.
Other Dependents
Now, time for the surprise dependents. Do you have a friend, girlfriend, or boyfriend that lives with you? Will they earn less than $4,050 this year and do you pay for more than half of their food, shelter and even clothing? If so, you can claim them as a dependent. The only stipulation is that they must live with you for the full tax year.
Now that you know who you can claim as a dependent, take a moment to think if you have anyone in your life that you can claim as a dependent. If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to call us at (610) 775-9216.
A Mazzo Accounting provides a variety of tax and accounting services to individuals and businesses in the Wyomissing, Reading, West Reading, Sinking Spring and Kenhorst areas, as well as towns and villages around the Greater Reading area. Our services for small to mid-size businesses include taxes, payroll services, accounting services, and bookkeeping services. We also provide a variety of services for individuals and they include tax return preparation as well as some accounting assistance.