The Member of Household or Relationship Test
Did the child you wish to claim as an exemption live with you for more than half of the year as a member of your household, other than during temporary absences by either of you due to illness, education, business, vacations, or military service?
Yes _____ No _____
Is the child related to you by birth or adoption?
Yes _____ No _____
If you answered "yes" to either or both of these questions, move on to the next test. If you answered "no" to both questions, stop here. You are not entitled to claim the child as a dependent for the purpose of the exemption.
The Citizenship or Residency Test
Was the child a U.S. citizen or resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the tax year?
Yes _____ No _____
If you answered "yes" to this question, move on to the next test. If you answered "no," stop here. You are not entitled to claim the child as a dependent for the purposes of the exemption.
The Joint Return Test
Can the child file a joint return with another taxpayer?
Yes _____ No _____
If you answered "no" to this question, move on to the next test. If you answered "yes," stop here. You are not entitled to claim the child as a dependent for the purposes of the exemption. (Note: This situation generally arises only when the child is married.)
The Gross Income Test
Did the child earn less than $4,300 this tax year?
Yes _____ No _____
Was the child under the age of 19 at the end of the year?
Yes _____ No _____
Was the child a student under the age of 24 at the end of the year?
Yes _____ No _____
If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, move on to the next test. If you answered "no" to all three questions, stop here. You are not entitled to claim the child as a dependent for the purposes of the exemption.
The Support Test
Did you provide more than half of the child's financial support during the year?
Yes ___ No ____
To calculate whether you provided half of the child's support, complete the following:
Child's Total Expenses
Do the following, when you are calculating the child's total expenses:
- Determine the child's total housing-related expenses. Examples of such expenses are food, rent, utilities, and repairs.
- Divide the total cost of those expenses by the number of people in the household.
- To the number that results from step (2), add the child's personal expenses. Examples of personal expenses are clothing, education, medical and dental care, and recreation.
- Input the number resulting from step (3) into the "$" field in the right-hand column.
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$__________ |
Input the amount of support you provided the child. |
-__________ |
Calculate the difference. |
=__________ |
Is the amount of support you provided greater than the difference? If so, you provided more than half of the support for this child.
If you answered "yes" to this question and passed all of the tests above, you are entitled to claim the child as a dependent for the purposes of the exemption.
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