Does my mother and sister qualify as my dependents?

Question

i am in the military and i am wondering if my mother who doesnt work and my sister who is to young to work can qualify as my dependents?

Answer 1

Maybe.  Are you providing over half of their support?  If so, and neither of them has $3500 or more gross income for 2008, then you can most likely claim them.

For your sister, you can't claim her as a qualifying child unless she lives with you at least half the year.  But if you provide over half of her support for the year, and nobody else can claim her as a qualifying child, then you can claim her as a qualifying relative.  That doesn't get you the child tax credit, but does give you an exemption for her.

If you are not providing over half of their support, then you can't claim them.

Answer 2

Are the three of you living together?  (If you are deployed, where you living together before you deployed?)

How exactly do they get their bills paid?

If you weren't living together, you'd have to prove that you were providing more than half of their support.  If they receive public assistance/food stamps, you would have prove you spent more than that.

Answer 3

It is possible that either or both of them may be your dependents.

Your sister may be your dependent "qualifying child" or your dependent "qualifying relative."

Qualifying child requires:

1.  The child lived with you for more than six months of the year

2.  The child does not provide more than half of her own support (note:  you do not have to support her).

3.  The child is under age 19 or under age 24 and a full-time student (or disabled of any age).

4.  The child is your close relative (a sibling qualifies).

If your sister is not a qualifying child, but you provided over half of her support, then she is a qualifying relative.

Your mother may be your qualifying relative.  You would have to provide over half of her support.