If you want to claim someone as your dependent, there are five tests that must be met:

1. The member of household or relationship test,
2. The citizenship test,
3. The joint return test,
4. The gross income test; and
5. The support test.

The first test is the member of household or relationship test. To meet this criteria, a person must live with you for the entire year as a member of your household or be related to you. A person is not considered a member of your household if, at any time during the tax year, your relationship with that person violates local law. The Form 1040 and 1040A instruction booklets contain a listing of all relatives who may qualify under the relationship test. Your spouse is never considered your dependent. If a person was born or died during the year and was a member of your household during the entire part of the year he or she was alive, the person meets the member of household test.

The second test is the citizenship test. This means your dependent must be a U.S. citizen or resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico for some part of the tax year.

The third test is the joint return test. Generally, you are not allowed to claim a person as a dependent if he or she files a joint return. However, you may claim a married dependent who is filing a joint return solely to claim a refund of tax withheld. This exception applies if neither the dependent nor the dependent's spouse is required to file a return and no tax liability exists for either spouse on separate returns.

The fourth test is the gross income test. Generally, you may not claim as a dependent a person who had gross income of $2,650 or more for 1997. Gross income is all income in the form of money, property, and services that is not exempt from tax. There are two exceptions to the gross income test. If your child is under age 19 at the end of the year or a full-time student under the age of 24, the gross income test does not apply.

The fifth test is the support test. To claim someone as your dependent you must provide more than half of that person's total support during the year. A special rule applies to children of divorced or separated parents. Generally, the custodial parent is treated as the person who provides more than half of the child's support; however, the noncustodial parent can meet this test if the custodial parent releases his or her claim to the exemption. See Publication 501 for more information.

You must include a valid Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for each dependent claimed on your tax return or the exemption will be disallowed. For more information on the ITIN, select Topic 857 or order Publication 915.

For more information on dependents, see Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, and Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents. Publications can be downloaded from this site, or ordered by calling 1-800-829-3676.

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