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December 9, 2024
Question

My mother's sole source of income is Social Security and SSI, about $10,000/year. Does that still disqualify her from being my dependent?

  • December 9, 2024
  • 1 reply
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    Employee
    December 9, 2024

    Social Security benefits do not disqualify your mom from being claimed as your dependent.   But....did you pay for over half her support in 2024?

    IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

    https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

    WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

     

    You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2024 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

    Qualifying child

    • They're related to you.
    • They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
    • They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
    • They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
    • They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
      • No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
    • They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
    • They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

    Qualifying relative

    • They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
    • They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
    • They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
    • They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
    • They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
    • They made less than $5050 not counting Social Security
    • You provided more than half of their financial support.

    When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

    Related Information:

     

    **Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
    December 9, 2024

    Thank you, that IS helpful. The problem I'm running into is that the form in Turbotax asks how much my mom earns, but it doesn't give the opportunity to say that the entirety of those earnings are from social security. Should I just enter that she earns nothing?

    Employee
    December 9, 2024

    Social Security is not earned income.   Say she earned no income.

    **Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**