I am not a U.S citizen. I have a work visa H1. Can I claim my sister as a dependent when filing my tax return?

Question

I was wondering if I could claim my sister as a dependent when filing my tax return. We are both from Mexico, she is a student (F-1 visa), and I work for an US company (H-1 visa).

These are the following facts:
1. Nobody else is claiming my sister since our parents
live in Mexico.
2. She does not live with me.
3. She makes less than $3,300 a year.
4. I paid for all her tuition, plus board, room and books
during 2005 and 2006. (She got the 1098-T Form from her college)
5. We are both Mexican Citizens.
6. She is 19 and a full-time student.
7. I am filing as a single person.

I was told that I need to be a US citizen in order to claim somebody as my dependent.

If I am eligible to claim her as a dependent, can I get the "Hope" or the "Lifetime Learning" credits?

Answer 1

Yes, you can claim your sister! You do NOT need to be a US citizen and neither does your sister! Whoever told you that is wrong!

To claim someone as a dependent, one of the tests is the "Citizenship or Residency Test." The citizenship test is pretty easy. BUT the residency test isn't so obvious. To meet the test, you must reside in the US, Canada or Mexico. Guess what? You passed THAT test! Now, let's look at the rest of your situation and see if you can claim her.

There are two types of dependent, "Qualifying Child" and "Qualifying Relative." Let's look at Qualifying Child first.

To be considered a Qualifying Child the dependent must meet several tests. Let's have a look:

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.

She's your sister! OK, you meet that one! Let's look at the next one:

2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student, or (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled.

Good news! You meet that one too! Next:

3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.

OK, here's where it could get dicey. There's an exception if the "child" is temporarily absent such as for attendance at school. If she's "temporarily absent" while attending school, she meets that test too.

4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year

Well, that looks good too, since you paid all of her costs!

5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.

Assuming that nobody else is going to try to claim her you won't have any trouble with that.

Well, so far, as long as #3 doesn't get in your way, your sister qualifies as your "Qualifying Child" and you can claim her as a dependent. If it does get in the way, she DOES qualify under the rules for a "Qualifying Relative" since as your sister she does not have to live with you. I'll skip listing them all but you can review the requirements here if you wish: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e2941

Since she qualifies as your dependent, you can claim the Hope or Lifetime Learning credits as appropriate. Here's a link to a quick Q & A on that: http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw85.html

One last item, though. To claim her as a dependent, she will need to have either a SSN or an ITIN. She's probably not eligible for a SSN but she can get an ITIN if she can't get an SSN. File Form W-7 with the IRS Austin Service Center if she needs an ITIN and doesn't already have one.

Answer 2

Steven F is incorrect in his answer, because you must meet the 5 dependency tests, but regardless of the results without an ITIN number, you would not be able to claim your parents or your sister under any circumstances., 2 thumbs up to Bostonian for a full, complete and correct answer

Answer 3

to declare somebody as a based, they the two ought to be a US citizen or a resident of the U. S., Canada or Mexico. Assuming that she lives with you here in the U. S. and is here legally, definite you could declare her as a based. If she lived on your place for extra effective than a million/2 of the 300 and sixty 5 days, is an entire-time pupil, and did no longer furnish extra effective than a million/2 of her very own help, you could declare her under the Qualifying baby rule. See IRS Pub 501 for extra preparation. How the IRS recognizes her as a based and how the college recognizes her as a based are completely separate and diverse subjects. If the college limits the instructions wreck to the baby of the worker then you certainly are no longer eligible for it.

Answer 4

The test is not citizenship. Page 20 of the 1040 instructions includes the following:
"Was your qualifying relative a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico?"
Based on the information you provide, I believe your sister qualifies as your dependent IF you provide at least half of her support.

Note: If you support your parents, you may be able to claim them as well.

Answer 5

what else is there to say Bostonian said it all. Go on Bostonian good job