There are many facets to filing your taxes. One of the components of filing taxes that usually has people scratching their heads is the topic of dependents. Sorting out who can qualify as your dependent for some reason is something that people have a hard time wrapping their heads around. Mark Dicus & Company is here to talk about dependents and who can qualify as yours as well as the benefits that come from filing with dependents.
What Qualifies Someone as a Dependent?
Most people see only their child as a dependent. The IRS actually qualifies more people that just your children as your dependents. Your dependent can be a relative, child or even maids and servants. Most people don’t have servants that they can count as a dependent, but relatives and children definitely do. Here is a little light on the subject of relatives and children that can be filed as a dependent next time you file your taxes.
Can I Claim My Child as a Dependent?
– A child that is under the age of 19 and is a son, daughter, foster child, step son/daughter, half-brother/sister, step brother/sister or a direct descendant of any of the children mentioned above.
– Your child must be younger than you or your spouse if you are filing jointly at the end of the tax year. Your child must be under the age of 24 if they are a student and also younger than you or your spouse when filing jointly, or any age if they are disabled.
– The child can’t be capable of providing more than half of his/her own support during the year.
– Your child can’t file a joint return for that year.
What Relatives Can Qualify as a Dependent?
– This individual can’t qualify as a child for you or any other tax payer.
– The individual must be related to you or live with you for the entire year as a member of your household.
– The gross income of the person cannot exceed $4,150.
– You have to be providing support for this person of at least 50%.
Benefits of Claiming Dependents
You will always find that it is worth sorting out all the necessary information to claim a dependent because it carries with it a list of benefits. These benefits include:
– An increase in your standard deduction
– Up to $2,000 per child in tax credit per child
– Up to $500 tax credit per qualifying individual
– Ability to use Earned Income Tax Credit
– Ability to claim medical bills and other itemized deductions
Tax Preparation, Filing, Planning & More in Salt Lake City, St. George, West Valley City, Provo, Orem, West Jordan & Greater Cedar City, Utah
If you are having a difficult time sorting out whether or not your relative or child can qualify as a dependent, you can rely on the experts at Mark Dicus & Company to get you situated to file your taxes. Call us today!