When a person begins to care for their parents, the IRS permits them to claim their parents as dependents on their tax return. Find out what requirements qualify you to claim your parent as dependents.
Over 50% of Support
There’s something called a support test, which is one of the requirements in order to claim your parent as a dependent. You must cover more than half of your parent’s support costs like food, housing expenses, medical services, or anything in between. You can include your dependent parent’s medical expenses if you itemized them when calculating your medical deductions.
Relationship & Residency
“Qualifying Relative” is a technical phrase used by the IRS to meet the relationship criteria. This means that the person you are caring for has to be your parent, in-law, or even a grandparent. They must, however, be biologically linked to you either by adoption, or marriage. The person you’re caring for must meet the residency requirements in order to be claimed as a dependent.
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Be a legal US Citizen
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Be a U.S. National
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Be a U.S. Resident Alien
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Be a resident of Canada or Mexico
Social Security & Gross Income
You must have a social security number (SSN) or an individual tax identification number (ITIN) for the parent you want to claim as a dependent on your tax return. Either of these numbers will suffice for the IRS’s identification requirements. A quick reminder, the parent you’re caring for is not able to file a joint tax return. For the tax year 2021, your parent’s taxable income should not exceed $4,300 to be claimed as a dependent.
Resolve Your Tax Bills
If you’ve found yourself in a nasty mess with the IRS, take a deep breath. For taxpayers who may have difficulty paying off an excessive amount of tax debt, there’s a new and improved relief program that consolidates many major relief programs into a one-size-fits-all assistance program. Any issues regarding back taxes, unfiled years, or any other tax-related problems may be solved through one program; the IRS Fresh Start Program!
How Simple Is Qualifying?
Considering that the Fresh Start Program is a federal program, you would think meeting the qualifications may be very difficult, but really, it’s a lot simpler and quicker than you think. Take the following steps in order to find out if you are eligible in as little as 3 minutes.
- Fill out some basic information about yourself and your back taxes here.
- Have a representative reach out to you to discuss your eligibility.
- Go through the enrollment process and finally reduce or eliminate your tax liabilities.
