Cecily Zamora
Claiming dependents is a great way to reduce your taxable income. To be eligible, your sister-in-law must meet the criteria of a qualifying relative or a qualifying child. If your sister-in-law is a qualifying relative, she must be a US citizen, US national, US resident, or resident of Canada or Mexico. She must also earn less than the annual income limit set by the IRS, which was $4,150 in 2018. Additionally, you must provide over half of her financial support for the year, and she must live with you for more than half the year, excluding temporary absences. If your sister-in-law is a qualifying child, she must be under 19, or under 24 if she is a full-time student, or any age if she is permanently and totally disabled.
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What You'll Learn
Relationship test
To claim someone as a dependent, they must meet the criteria for being a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. In the context of the relationship test, the individual must be related to you in one of the following ways: they are your child, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or an offspring of any of them.
In-laws also qualify as dependents, including sisters-in-law. To meet the relationship test, your sister-in-law must be related to your spouse in one of the ways listed above. For example, she could be your spouse's sister, half-sister, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
In addition to the relationship test, there are other tests that must be passed to qualify as a dependent. These include the age test, residency test, support test, and joint return test. For the age test, the individual must be under 19 or, if a full-time student, under 24. There is no age limit if the person is permanently and totally disabled. For the residency test, the individual must live with you for more than half the year, although there are some exceptions to this rule. For the support test, the individual must receive more than half of their financial support from you. Finally, for the joint return test, the dependent cannot file a joint return unless it is to receive a claim of a refund of all taxes withheld or estimated taxes paid.
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Age test
To be able to claim your sister-in-law as a dependent, she must meet the criteria for a qualifying relative. According to the IRS, a dependent is a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. The age test is one of the five tests that a qualifying child must meet.
The age test for a qualifying child states that the child must be under the age of 19 at the end of the calendar year if they are not a student. If your sister-in-law is a student, she must be a full-time student for at least five months of the year and be under the age of 24. In addition, she must be younger than you or your spouse if you are filing jointly.
If your sister-in-law is permanently and totally disabled, she qualifies as a dependent child regardless of her age.
It is important to note that there are other tests that must be met to qualify as a dependent, including the relationship test, residency test, and support test.
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Residency test
To claim your sister-in-law as a dependent, she must meet the residency test requirements. Here are the key points to understand about the residency test:
The residency test requires that your sister-in-law lives with you for more than half of the year to be claimed as a dependent. This means she must reside with you for at least six months plus one day to satisfy this criterion. This requirement ensures that the individual being claimed as a dependent has a close connection to the taxpayer's household.
There are, however, certain exceptions to the residency test. For instance, if your sister-in-law was born or passed away during the year, or there are other extenuating circumstances, she may still qualify as a dependent even if she hasn't lived with you for the full six months. These exceptions provide flexibility and consider situations where the living arrangement may be impacted by factors beyond control.
It is important to note that the residency test is just one aspect of the requirements to claim someone as a dependent. Other tests, such as the relationship test and support test, must also be met. The relationship test outlines the specific types of relationships that qualify, including siblings, children, and other relatives. The support test requires that the dependent receives more than half of their financial support from the taxpayer.
Additionally, there are restrictions on who can be claimed as a dependent. For example, the dependent must not provide more than half of their own financial support during the year. They must also be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident, or resident of Mexico or Canada. Understanding and meeting all the requirements are crucial to successfully claiming your sister-in-law as a dependent on your tax return.
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Support test
To claim someone as a dependent, they must be either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. A dependent must be a US citizen, resident alien or national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. They must also pass the support test, which means that you must provide more than half of their total support for the year. In addition, a dependent cannot provide more than half of their own financial support for the year.
There are several other tests that must be passed for someone to qualify as a dependent. The relationship test requires the dependent to be a son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-sister or -brother, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child, or the child of one of these. The residency test requires the dependent to have lived with you for more than half the year, with exceptions for temporary absences and children who were born or died during the year. The age test requires the dependent to be under the age of 19 at the end of the calendar year, or under 24 if a full-time student, or be permanently and totally disabled.
There are also some restrictions on who can be claimed as a dependent. For example, you cannot claim someone who is already claimed as a dependent on another tax return, or someone who files a joint return. The person must also not have a gross income of more than $5,050 in 2024 ($5,200 for 2025).
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Joint return test
The joint return test is a test created by the IRS to determine if you can claim another person as a dependent on your taxes. According to the test, a taxpayer filing a joint return can be claimed as a dependent only when they are filing the joint return to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
In most cases, you can't claim someone as a dependent who is filing a joint tax return with someone else (usually a spouse). For instance, if you are married and can file with your spouse, your parents will not be able to claim you as a dependent on their return. However, there are two exceptions to this rule. First, if you or your spouse files a joint return only to claim a refund for tax withheld. Second, if you or your spouse filed separate returns, neither of you would owe tax.
The dependent taxpayer test is similar to the joint return test and determines when someone can be claimed as a dependent by another person. The test specifies that any taxpayer who can be claimed as a dependent can’t claim someone else as a dependent.
It is important to note that, in addition to the joint return test, other tests must be met to qualify as a dependent. These include the relationship test, the residency test, and the age test. The relationship test requires the dependent to be a qualifying child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or half-sibling (or the descendant of any of these). The residency test requires the dependent to have lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year, with exceptions for temporary absences. The age test requires the dependent to be under a certain age, a full-time student, or permanently and totally disabled.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can claim your sister-in-law as a dependent if she meets the following criteria: she must be a US citizen, US national, US resident, or resident of Canada or Mexico; she must be your relative; she must have lived with you for more than half the year; she must not have provided more than half of her own financial support for the year; and she must earn less than the annual income limit set by the IRS.
The dependent must be under 19 years old, or under 24 if they are a full-time student. There is no age limit if the dependent is permanently and totally disabled.
The income limit for 2018 was $4,150. The IRS has not released the limit for 2019.
Yes, your sister-in-law must live with you for more than half the year to be claimed as a dependent. However, there are exceptions for temporary absences due to illness, school, vacation, or military service.
If your sister-in-law's child meets the criteria for being your dependent, you can claim them. However, if your sister-in-law is already your dependent, she cannot claim any dependents of her own, including her child.
