Qualifying Relative

• To be considered a qualifying relative, the person must either live with you or be related to you in a specific way, including a parent or stepparent. You must provide at least half of the person's total support for the year, and the person must have gross income of less than $3,650.
  
  

Parent as Qualifying Relative

• A parent is automatically classified as a qualifying relative. Total support includes monies spent for food, lodging, clothing, education, medical and dental care, transportation and other essential items. If your parent's income falls below the threshold and you have provided over half of this total support, he qualifies as a dependent on your tax return. Social Security benefits are generally not considered as part of gross income.
  
  

Other Relatives

• The IRS defines a complete list of relatives who do not have to live with you that are also qualifying relatives: children by birth or adoption, foster children, siblings, stepbrothers, stepsisters, or a descendent of one of these relatives. The individual must still meet the income threshold and total support tests.
  
  

Qualifying Children

• If your children have lived with you at least half of the year, and you have provided more than half of their financial support, you may also claim them as dependents. They must be younger than 19 or full-time students younger than 24. In addition, they cannot have filed a joint return.