Can I claim my brother as a dependent if he is a full time student and lives in my residence?

Answer 1

If your brother is also:

1. Under 19 or under 24 and a full-time student
2. Does not pay for over half of his own support
3. No one else is claiming him
4. He lived with you for more than six months

Then your brother is your qualifying child and you can claim him for all the benefits of a qualifying child.

If your brother does not meet the above conditions for you or for anyone else, then if

1. He lived with you for 12 months
2. He had less than $3,400 of income subject to tax
3. You paid for over half of his support

Then your brother can still be your dependent but you do not get the credits associated with claiming a child.

Answer 2

To be your dependent, a person must be either your qualifying child or your qualifying relative. Generally, a person is your qualifying relative if that person:

Lives with or is related to you,

Does not have $3,300 or more of gross (total) income,

Is supported (generally more than 50%) by you, and

Is neither your qualifying child nor the qualifying child of anyone

If he is a qulifying child for your parent(s) then you can't claim him even if they don't.

Answer 3

It depends. If he's under age 24, didn't provide over half of his own support, and neither of your parents claim him, then you can as long as he lived with you for over half the year. There are a few other requirements, but those are the main ones.

If he's over 24, you provided over half of his support for the year, and his gross income was under $3400, then you could claim him.

Answer 4

State laws vary, but federal yes, 1) if no one else does, 2) if he lived with you for 6 months and 1 day. Ask H&R Block.