A Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative for whom you can claim a tax exemption.
In this tax tutorial, you will learn about dependents. A dependent is a person other than the taxpayer or spouse who entitles the taxpayer to claim a dependency exemption. Each dependency exemption decreases income subject to tax by the exemption amount. 1  For 2014, the exemption amount is $3,950. A taxpayer cannot claim a dependency exemption for a person who can be claimed as a dependent on another tax return. The term dependent means a qualifying child or a qualifying relative.. A. To claim a dependency exemption for a qualifying child, all of the qualifying child dependency tests must be met: A dependent is an individual, such as a qualifying child, whom a taxpayer can claim on his or her federal and some state income tax returns. Taxpayers can reduce their taxable income by claiming deductions, which can result in a decrease in tax liabilities and an increase in the amount of a refund. If you support children, relatives, or even non-relatives, then you may be able to claim them as dependents (or dependants, as the word is often misspelled) on your tax return. The IRS definition of a dependent is: a Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative for whom you can claim a tax exemption. What Are the IRS Dependent Rules? If someone is your Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative, then you can claim a tax exemption for them, and you may qualify for additional tax benefits. Information You Will Need: 1  Marital status, relationship to the dependent and the amount of support provided. 2  Basic income information such as your adjusted gross income. Found This Helpful. You may meet the Internal Revenue Service definition of a dependent even if you work and file your own tax return, as long as you satisfy several IRS tests for someone to claim you as a qualifying child or relative. 1 Marital status, relationship to the dependent and the amount of support provided. 2  Basic income information such as your adjusted gross income. 3  If no person supplied more than half of the potential dependent's support, the terms of any multiple support agreement you may have. The IRS requirements for a person to be counted as a dependent on a taxpayer's return and the notion of a dependent for financial aid purposes are not the same. The term as used by the IRS is defined in Title 26, Subtitle A, Chapter 1, Subchapter B, Part V, Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code.
https://apps.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/hows/tax_tutorials/mod04/tt_mod04_01.jsp https://apps.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/hows/tax_tutorials/mod04/tt_mod04_01.jsp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dependent.asp http://www.efile.com/claiming-qualifying-dependents-as-tax-return-deductions/ https://www.irs.gov/uac/Who-Can-I-Claim-as-a-Dependent%3F http://www.ehow.com/how_2080729_meet-irs-definition-dependent.html https://www.irs.gov/uac/Who-Can-I-Claim-as-a-Dependent%3F http://www.finaid.org/educators/irsdependent.phtml
IRS form definition of dependent