how much time does a person have to live with you to claim her as a dependent?

Question

my niece came to live with us aug 2006 and shes only 15, can i claim her in 2006 taxes. also i will file with my husband for the first year. will we get money back

Answer 1

Crgrier left out one very important requirement – she can’t be the qualifying child of anyone else. If she lived with one of her parents, or a grandparent, or another aunt or uncle up until she moved in with you in August, then she’s probably their qualifying child, so you couldn’t claim her.

I’m not real sure what Mazz is saying, but there’s no such thing as a partial year exemption. And IceyFlame’s answer is way off, as is texastaz’s.

TaxMan has a correct answer, but it doesn’t apply to your situation since you say that she came to live with you in August 06 – August to December is NOT more than half the year.

If she lived with a parent for the other 7 months of the year, then no, you couldn’t claim her. If she didn’t, then you should be able to. If for example she lived with one parent for 5 months, the other or a grandparent for two months (and the parent she lived with for the 5 months didn’t live there also, and you for the last five, then you could claim her.

Answer 2

If they are related to you, and under 19 (I won't go into all of the other conditions because you said she was related to you and under 19), then as long as she lived with you for at least 6 months AND she didn't pay for over half of her own living expenses, you can claim her as a Qualifying Child. If someone else meets the same conditions and claims her as well, then the IRS will use tiebreaker rules to determine who has a higher right to claim. If no one else claims her, then it doesn't matter who has a higher right to claim...you will get her.

Notice, I didn't say that YOU had to pay over 1/2 of her living expenses....all that matters is that she didn't pay over 1/2 of her own living expenses.

Good luck :)

(P.S. No one in the world will be able to tell you if you will get money back unless you give us a boatload of more information first. It is best to do your own taxes and get your own answer.)

Answer 3

If she meets all of the following requirements, she is your dependent and is claimed on your return and not permitted to claim an individual exemption on her own tax return:

* a member of your household or close relationship
* a US citizen
* not married
* you contributed more than 50% of her support for the year


Here is a detailed article explaining the whole dependents issue.
http://www.internet-taxprep.com/plindex.asp?welcome=WU9900641&page=taxguide/text/c60s10d078.asp

Answer 4

Well I live in New York and I know that you can claim someone as a dependant for as many months as they were your dependant. If she's working make sure she made under $2000 that year or else you can't claim her, she has to claim herself.

Just make sure that yours and her parents dates match up... the last thing you guys want is an audit (eek!)

And yes you do get money back. Generally, before the child gets to a working age, I believe its $2000 you'd get for a full year.

Answer 5

to add to Taxman's correct answer, if she lived with you for less than 6 months and she didnt live with any other related person for at least 6 months and you paid for over half of her living expenses, you could claim her as a qualifying relative, but it is unlikely she lived with no related person at all for 6 months. say she came to live with you in september, she probably lived with another relative for the first 8 months which would kick you out.

also, to answer your second question, you will definitely get a refund. in fact, it will be $3,217.33

sarcasm detector is in overload

Answer 6

yes as long as she is not being claimed on someones elses return you can claim her if she has only been there a short time

Answer 7

Immediately. It starts as soon as she becomes your dependant.

There is a partial year form you can use. It's in the book or at www.irs.gov