Keith Mack
The US tax system can be confusing, especially when it comes to figuring out who you can claim as a dependent on your Federal tax return. A dependent must be either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. Certain relatives qualify as dependents, including in-laws such as a brother-in-law. However, there are several criteria that must be met to claim a brother-in-law as a dependent, including the gross income and support tests.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Relationship | The person must be your brother-in-law |
| Residency | The person must have lived with you for the entire year as a member of your household |
| Gross Income Test | The person's gross income must be less than $4,700 for the 2023 tax year and $5,050 for the 2024 tax year |
| Support | You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year |
| Joint Return | The person cannot file a joint return unless it is to receive a claim of a refund of all taxes withheld or estimated taxes paid |
| Citizenship | The person must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident, or resident of Mexico or Canada |
What You'll Learn
Brother-in-law as a qualifying relative
A brother-in-law can be claimed as a dependent if they are a qualifying relative. A qualifying relative must meet the following criteria:
Firstly, they must be related to you in one of the following ways: they are your brother or sister-in-law, or they have lived with you all year as a member of your household. Secondly, the relative must meet the gross income test. This means that the person must have gross income subject to tax that is less than $4,700 for the 2023 tax year and $5,050 for the 2024 tax year. Thirdly, you must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
It is important to note that a qualifying relative cannot provide more than half of their own annual support and cannot file a joint tax return with a spouse, except in certain cases. Additionally, the dependent cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
Before claiming a dependent, it is important to understand the impact claiming an individual may have on any benefits they receive from federal, state, and local governments.
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Relationship test
To claim someone as a dependent, they must meet the relationship test, which means they must be a lineal descendant or ancestor, sibling, in-law, niece, nephew, aunt, or uncle. In other words, the dependent must be the taxpayer's son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, a grandchild). It may also be the taxpayer's brother, sister, half-sibling, step-sibling, or a descendant of any of them (for example, a niece or nephew).
A brother-in-law falls under the category of 'in-law', and therefore meets the relationship test. However, to be claimed as a dependent, he must also meet the other tests, including the residency test, the support test, the gross income test, and the joint return test.
The residency test requires that the dependent lives with the taxpayer for more than half of the year, or the whole year if they are a member of the taxpayer's household. The support test means the taxpayer must provide more than half of the dependent's financial support for the year. The gross income test means the dependent's gross income must be less than a certain amount ($4,700 for the 2023 tax year, and $5,050 for the 2024 tax year). Finally, the joint return test means the dependent cannot file a joint return for the year, unless it is to claim a refund of taxes paid or withheld.
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Residency test
To be claimed as a dependent, an individual must meet the residency test. This means that they must have lived with you for more than half of the year. There are some exceptions to this rule, for example, if the dependent is a child who was born or died during the year. If a child lives with each parent for a different portion of the year, the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period should claim the child as a dependent. This parent is known as the custodial parent.
In addition to the residency test, there are other criteria that must be met to claim someone as a dependent. The dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident, or resident of Mexico or Canada. They must also meet the gross income test, which means their gross income subject to tax must be less than $4,700 for the 2023 tax year and $5,050 for the 2024 tax year. The individual claiming the dependent must provide more than half of the dependent's total support for the year.
It is important to note that a dependent cannot be claimed on more than one tax return and cannot claim a dependent on their own tax return. Additionally, a spouse cannot be claimed as a dependent if filing jointly, although filing jointly may result in tax benefits.
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Support test
To claim someone as a dependent, they must be either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. To be a qualifying child, the person must meet the following criteria:
- They must be your child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (grandchild or niece/nephew).
- They must have lived with you for more than half the year, with some exceptions.
- They must be under the age of 19, or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled.
- They must not have provided more than half of their own financial support for the year.
- They must not have filed a joint return for the year (unless to claim a refund of taxes paid or withheld).
- They must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer.
- They must have earned less than a certain amount of gross income for the year ($5,050 in 2024, $4,700 in 2023).
If your brother-in-law meets all of these criteria, he may qualify as your qualifying child. It is important to note that the criteria for a qualifying child may vary slightly depending on your specific state law.
To be a qualifying relative, the person must meet the following criteria:
- They must be related to you in one of the following ways: in-law, such as a son or daughter-in-law, father or mother-in-law, brother or sister-in-law; or they must live with you for the entire year as a member of your household.
- They must have earned less than a certain amount of gross income for the year ($5,050 in 2024, $4,700 in 2023).
- You must provide more than half of their total support for the year.
- They must not be claimed as a dependent by anyone else on their tax return.
If your brother-in-law meets all of these criteria, he may qualify as your qualifying relative. It is important to note that a dependent can only be claimed by one taxpayer. Additionally, you cannot claim your spouse as a dependent if you file jointly.
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Joint return test
To claim someone as a dependent on your taxes, they must first pass the Joint Return Test. This test is used to determine if a person could be claimed as a dependent by more than one taxpayer. If your brother-in-law passes this test, you may be able to claim him as a dependent, provided he also meets the other requirements for dependency.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States has specific criteria for the Joint Return Test. The test states that if an individual files a joint tax return with their spouse, they cannot be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. This is a straightforward pass/fail test, meaning that if your brother-in-law files a joint return with his spouse, you cannot claim him as a dependent. However, if he does not file a joint return, he may still pass this test and meet the qualifications to be claimed as your dependent.
It is important to note that the Joint Return Test is just one aspect of determining dependency. There are additional requirements that must be met, including the relationship test, residency test, income test, and support test. All of these tests work together to determine if an individual can be claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return.
In the context of your brother-in-law, the relationship test would need to be considered as well. To meet the relationship test, your brother-in-law must be related to you in one of the ways specified by the IRS. This could include being a blood relative, such as a sibling, parent, or grandparent, or a relative through marriage, such as a brother-in-law, sister-in-law, or parent-in-law. If your brother-in-law does not meet the relationship test, he cannot be claimed as your dependent, regardless of the results of the Joint Return Test or other requirements.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, a brother-in-law can be claimed as a dependent. However, they must meet the criteria for a qualifying relative. This includes being a US citizen, US National, US resident, or resident of Mexico or Canada. They must also have a gross income of less than $4,700 for the 2023 tax year and not be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
The gross income test determines whether an individual can be claimed as a dependent based on their income. For the 2023 tax year, the individual's gross income must be less than $4,700, and for the 2024 tax year, it must be less than $5,050.
The support test determines whether an individual can be claimed as a dependent based on whether they provide more than half of their own financial support. To qualify as a dependent, an individual must not provide more than half of their own support.
Generally, an individual who is claimed as a dependent cannot file a joint tax return. However, there are exceptions to this rule. They may file a joint return if it is to receive a claim of a refund of all taxes withheld or estimated taxes paid.
