Dependents — Qualifying Child & Qualifying Relative (2025)

Overview

A dependent must be either a Qualifying Child or a Qualifying Relative. Only one taxpayer can claim the same dependent. Being claimed as a dependent blocks the dependent from claiming others on their own return.

Pre-tests for ALL dependents (3 universal tests):

1. Dependent Taxpayer Test — someone who CAN be claimed as a dependent cannot claim their own dependents
2. Joint Return Test — a married dependent who files jointly cannot be claimed (exception: filed only for refund, no tax would be due if filed separately)
3. Citizen/Resident Test — must be US, Canada, or Mexico citizen/resident (exception: legally adopted foreign child living with taxpayer all year)

OBBBA permanently eliminated personal exemption deductions ($0), but claiming dependents still matters for: CTC, EITC, child & dependent care credit, HoH filing status, ODC.

Qualifying Child — 5 Tests

1. Relationship Test

Child must be related by blood, marriage, or adoption:

• Son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child
• Sibling, half-sibling, step-sibling
• Descendant of any of the above (grandchild, niece, nephew)
• Foster child (placed by court or agency)

2. Age Test

Child must be one of:

• Under 19 at year-end (any student status), OR
• Under 24 at year-end AND a full-time student, OR
• Any age if permanently and totally disabled

Child must be YOUNGER than the taxpayer claiming them (unless disabled). For MFJ, child must be younger than at least one spouse.

Full-time student: enrolled for at least 5 months of the year at a qualifying school.

3. Residency Test

Must live with taxpayer more than half the year (>6 months). Exceptions count as "temporary absence": college, military service, illness/hospitalization, vacation, institutional care for disabled children.

Children of divorced parents: custodial parent (where child lives more nights) gets the dependent by default. Parents can agree otherwise with Form 8332.

4. Support Test

Child must NOT provide more than half of their own support. Scholarships (taxable or not) don't count as self-support for full-time students. Money earned but SAVED (not spent on living expenses) doesn't count as self-support.

5. Tiebreaker Test (when child qualifies for multiple taxpayers)

Only one person claims. Priority order:

1. Parent (if parents file jointly)
2. Parent with whom child lived the longest during the year
3. Parent with the highest AGI (if equal time)
4. Non-parent with highest AGI
5. Non-parent with AGI higher than any eligible parent who didn't claim

Tiebreaker only applies if two people ACTUALLY try to claim the same child. Parents who agree can choose.

Qualifying Relative — 4 Tests

1. Not a Qualifying Child Test

The person must NOT be anyone's qualifying child. If they're a qualifying child of ANY taxpayer, they can't be anyone's qualifying relative.

2. Relationship or Member of Household Test

The person must either:

• Be related to taxpayer (child, stepchild, adopted child + descendants; sibling, half-sibling, step-sibling + descendants; parent, grandparent, step-parent + other direct ancestors; niece/nephew, aunt/uncle, in-law, son/daughter-in-law, brother/sister-in-law). Relationship by marriage does NOT end with death/divorce. Cousins are NOT relatives — a cousin must live with taxpayer ALL year. Household employees (e.g., housekeeper) cannot be dependents even if they live all year. OR
• Live with taxpayer ALL YEAR as a household member (non-relatives only)

3. Gross Income Test

Person's gross income must be less than $5,200 (2025 — the "deemed exemption" amount, per IRC §152(d)(1)(B)). Gross income = all non-exempt income in money/property/services. (Social Security income typically excluded.)

4. Support Test

Taxpayer must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year. Support includes food, housing, clothing, medical, education, recreation, transportation. Social Security/welfare benefits count as support from whoever benefits (state benefits = state support; SS used for support = recipient's support). Scholarships for full-time students do NOT count as support. This is DIFFERENT from the qualifying child test — here the TAXPAYER provides the support, not the dependent not providing it.

Key Differences: QC vs QR

Common Traps

• QC fails age test but passes QR: A 27-year-old child earning $3,000 who lives with parents and gets >50% support from them → NOT a QC (fails age) but IS a QR (passes income, relationship, support)
• Shared custody tiebreaker: If child lives equally with both parents, the one with higher AGI wins
• Foster child payments from agency: Counted as support FROM AGENCY, not from child — child still passes support test
• Married dependent filing jointly: Generally blocks dependency unless return filed ONLY for refund with zero tax liability
• Cousins are not "relatives" for QR purposes — must live all year; a live-in housekeeper is never a dependent
• Gross income test uses $5,200 (2025) — a disabled person who IS a qualifying child has NO income limit (any age if permanently disabled), but as a QR the $5,200 limit applies

Divorced / Separated Parents — Special Rules

• General rule: The custodial parent (child lived with them more nights during the year) claims the child as dependent by default.
• Form 8332 release: Custodial parent can sign Form 8332 to release the dependency exemption/CTC to the noncustodial parent. Requirements: parents divorced/separated OR lived apart the last 6 months of the year; child received >half support from parents; child was in custody of one/both parents.
• What the release does NOT transfer: The noncustodial parent who gets the dependent via Form 8332 can claim CTC and ODC, but cannot claim HoH filing status or EITC — those stay with the custodial parent.
• Equal nights: If child lived with both parents equal nights, custodial parent = the one with higher AGI.
• Revocation: Custodial parent can revoke the Form 8332 release (earliest effective the year after notice is given to noncustodial parent); keep revocation records and proof of delivery.

Multiple Support Agreement (Form 2120)

When two or more people jointly provide >half of a person's support but no single person provides >half (common for adult children supporting a parent):

• Group of family members must together provide >half support
• The taxpayer claiming the dependent must provide >10% of support
• Only ONE person claims the dependent in a given year (can rotate years among eligible family)
• Other eligible providers sign Form 2120 waiving their claim
• No one may claim if a non-relative provides most support (e.g., 60% from non-relative → no one qualifies)