Make sure you meet all of the requirements before you try to claim your parents as dependents on your U.S. income tax return.
Claiming parents is difficult, but it can be done if you pass the “Qualifying Relative” tests. But first, here are the two biggies that tend to get in the way:
- You cannot claim a married person who files a joint return with his or her spouse. So if your parents file a joint tax return in the United States, then you won’t be able to claim them. (I’m guessing they don’t, but I wanted to make sure that I told you about that.)
- To claim someone as a dependent, the person must be a US citizen, US resident alien, US national or resident of Canada or Mexico. Where my clients have had trouble before is when their parents visit the US, but their visas are only for 6 months, no longer. Then they don’t qualify as US residents. I just wanted to make sure you knew about the 6 month rule because that’s the issue most likely to cause Indian families trouble with claiming their parents. After that, the rules are the same for anyone else in America who wants to claim their parents on their US income tax return. You need to pass the qualifying relative test.
The Qualifying Relative Test has 4 parts:
- They cannot be considered a qualifying child of anyone else. No problem! As your parents, I’m guessing they’re both over the age of 24. Easy pass.
- Member of household or relationship test. As your parents, they do not have to live with you. Also, since they are your parents, they automatically pass the relationship test. Easy pass.
- Gross income test. This one is harder. They cannot have more than than $4,050 in gross income for the year. If they are retired, they might qualify, but if they are receiving a taxable pension, that could kick them out of being a dependent. In the US, for example, my mother in law receives Social Security income which isn’t taxable and it doesn’t count as gross income. Her other income is less than $4,050 so she would pass the gross income test for me to claim her as a dependent. Remember, once your parents become US residents, they will be taxed on their “world wide income.”
- Support Test. In order to claim your parents as dependents, you must provide more than 1/2 of their support. Let’s say that your parents each earn $3,000 a year in some type of pension. For you to be able to claim them as dependents, you would have to pay more than $3,000 for support for each of them. For example, if they live with you, then you would consider part of your rent or mortgage to be towards their support. Also food, clothing, medical expenses, etc. If they don’t live with you, who is paying for their rent, food, clothing, etc.? Using my mother-in-law as an example again: although I pay some of her bills, I definitely don’t pay over 1/2 of her support. She pays for her food and rent with her Social Security money so I don’t come close to the 50% of her support.
If you do find that you qualify to claim your parents, then you would complete the W7 forms for them, so that they have an ITIN number, and submit them with your next tax return. I find that the best way to handle the W7 form is to take your tax return in to the nearest IRS office with your supporting documents (like passports) and submit them there. Although it might be inconvenient making the trip, it will save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
Hi Oz,
If she lives in Europe, then you can’t claim her.
the reason is she is a visitor she lives in europe but i paid for most of her expenses last year
Hi Oz,
You have a lot of questions here. I suggest that you hire a tax professional for your taxes this year. You’ve got too much going on for just a blog post. Sorry.
Hi Oz,
What reason do you have for not having health insurance for you mother? That would help you determine the exemption number.
Hi
1)my mother in law in b1 visa lived with us for more than 6 months , so i want to claim her dependent, but she didnt have health insurance ,how can i get the exemption number?
2) i invited her for newborn twins , so she helped a lot, i paid for both of her air fare tickets(she came twice) and all the other expenses, can i deduct any of these costs
3) in the previous year i worked as contractor but on a w2 and got paid by hour and my employer didnt offer any health insurance, can i deduct my health ins. premiums even if they make up 10%of my income?
4) my family were visiting overseas amd some unfortunate events happened at that time there and i had to evacuate all of them because it was not safe, us gov started no fly advisory at that time to that country,can i deduct any of these expenses
Hi my mother in law in b1 visa lived with us for more than 6 months , so i want to claim her dependent, but she didnt have health insurance ,how can i get the exemption number?
Hi,
I understand that. Please let me know if I’m missing something else.
If they meet the resident filling status, they have an ITIN we could put the parents as dependents even if they lived with us less than 6 months if we provided more than 1/2 of their support for the year, and their income was less than $4050 (assuming they do not file a joint tax return – they do not file any return anyway):
“A qualifying relative must also satisfy all of the other requirements of a qualified child, except that parents or grandparents do not have to satisfy the residency requirement. For instance, even if the parent lives elsewhere, a child providing for more than half of the parent’s support can claim a dependency exemption for the parent.
The taxpayer must provide more than ½ of the individual’s support for the calendar year, and the dependent’s gross income must be less than the personal exemption. For a qualifying relative, statutory gross income, which is gross income without any deductions, is considered in deciding whether the qualifying relative earned at least the personal exemption amount. Any income that is excludable, such as exempt interest, disability, or Social Security payments, is not included in the statutory gross income, but is considered for determining whether the taxpayer has furnished more than half of the dependent’s support.”
Hi Stephanie,
It all depends upon your situation. But make sure you can legally claim your mom first. The most important thing is – do you provide more than half of her support? Check this out first: https://www.irs.gov/uac/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent
Also, you don’t get anything for claiming your parent, it’s a deduction against your income. That would reduce your tax liability – so you’d pay less tax or get a bigger refund if you hadn’t already reduced your liability to zero.
Sorry, that’s a really geeky technical answer. Bottom line, you might not get anything at all. (Which if that’s the case, you don’t even want her on your return because claiming a parent is more likely to raise an audit flag.)
My mom makes less then 3000 a year
If i claim her on my taxes
How much would i get back for her
Hi Joana,
The non-resident alien section that you’re reading is for resident versus non-resident filings of taxes. The parent issue is different. When claiming your parent on your tax return, they must be in the US for over 6 months of the current year.
This is what I see on Turbo Tax explanation for Resident and Non Resident Aliens:
“When counting the number of days you’re present in the U.S. during the three-year period, you don’t include every single day. Instead, count only a fraction of the days in two of the three years. Suppose, for example, you’re trying to figure out your status for the 2016 tax year because you lived in the U.S. for 60 days. You count all 60 days for 2016, one-third of the days in 2015 and one-sixth of the days in 2014”.
So you count all days for the year before, one-third of the days for the year before that and one-sixth for the previous one and need to have 183 total. If a parent visits every year and stays 6 months based on this rule they should qualify for sure if they have the 183 days in the 3 years before. Isn’t that true?
Hi Karen,
I’m guessing that your mother is a green card holder, not a citizen, right? Here’s a really good worksheet: Who Can I Claim as a Dependent?
I think, given your situation, you may be able to claim her. But use the assistant to make sure.
Hi Anand,
No you cannot. Sorry.
Jan, my is a legal resident of the US; however, she is disabled and returned to Honduras. I have been supporting her there as health care is less expensive. Could I be able to claim her on my returns?
Hi Jan,
Really appreciate you clarifying all of these queries!!!
Here is mine: my parents (Indian citizens) visited us for few weeks in US and can I claim their airfare, Visa processing fee and US Medical Insurance costs for tax exemption?
Thanks for the quick reply Jan. Just for future reference , if they are here over 183 days in a calendar year , would I then be able to claim them as dependents?
Hi Viru,
You cannot claim your parents as dependents for 2016, they were not in the US for over 183 days during the tax year. Sorry.
Hello Jan,
I appreciate all the advice you have given here. I have a question hoping you can help.
My parents came to US on 20 July 2016 and though their original return was planned for 20 Jan 2016, I have applied for extension for a month more.
This means their stay here would be more than 183 days and are living with me for the entire duration.
They have both retired and have no income ( in US or India).
They do not have TIN yet.
Is there any clause that avoid me from claiming them as my dependents?
Hi Jay,
This is a really good link for you, or anyone with your type of question: Who Can I Claim as a Dependent?
In your situation, your mother’s green card makes her a permanent US resident – even if she is out of the country, so that would allow you to claim her on your tax return – provided of course that you met all the other requirements.
As a US resident, the US taxes her worldwide income. But if her pension is less than $3,000 – there would be no requirement for her to file a tax return.
She should not be required to have US health insurance while living in India.
Hi
My 65 year old mom arrived to the US on a Green Card in Oct 2016. Her overseas pension is less than 3K/year. She’s living with us and not working. Since she was in the US for just over 90 days in 2016 are we responsible for taxes at all for 2016? She is planning to stay about 6.5 months per year in the US and rest overseas. In 2018 I imagine
I also have bought her travel health insurance from her home country which expires end of Jan. I imagine I have to buy her insurance through May when she’s planning to leave? She does not qualify for Medicare or medicaid at this time, there are very few health insurance options at this time.
Hi Raju,
Read item number 2 above. No, you cannot.
Hello,
My parents are indian citizens and they are in india. They dont have any income. I send money to them. Can i claim them as dependants? (Just fyi.. i also own scorp business here)
Hi Vijay,
your Dad’s income is $5,000. In order to claim him as a dependent, his income has to be less than the exemption amount which is $4,050 fro 2016. So should you file for them separately? Yes, that way you can use the tax return to apply for health insurance.
If his income were below the $4,050, then you would be responsible for his health insurance (or the penalty for not having it) – if he qualifies for medicare, you may be better off having him file separately anyway.
Hi Dipesh,
These are not gifts that are deductible. Charitable donations are gifts that you give to a Charity organization – also known as a 501c3 organization. Even though giving to our families often feels like we are giving to charity (whether you are Indian or American, I think that’s a pretty universal thing) sending gifts of money or cars to family members does not count as a charity donation.
Now, if you give gifts of over $14,000 to anyone, you may be required to file a gift tax return. The gift isn’t taxable to either you or the recipient, it’s the IRS’s way of keeping track of large gifts which could affect your estate tax when you die. But I don’t think you’re asking me about that.
Hello,
My Parents got their Green Card in June’2015 and arrived on Sept 26th 2015 to US. Both of them don’t work here.
My Father’s income in India is pension income and is less than $5000 per annum. I take of them completely (housing, medical etc)
1. Should I put them as Dependants or Should I file tax for them separately?
2. If I need to get the CA Medicare, the Insurance specialist is asking me to file tax for them separately?
3. So what are the tax benefits if I file them dependants Vs if I file their taxes separately?
4. Since my Father’s income is ~ $5000 pension income, should he file any taxes here in US?
Thanks!
Vijay
In the year 2016 i gave a car as a gift to my younger brother and send some gifts to my parents living in India. so, i can take the deduction for giving gifts? I am on H1-B visa
Hi PP,
I have a couple of thoughts for you. First, I’m guessing that since you arrived here in 2015 that you will be filing as a US resident for 2016. If you are filing as a resident (instead of filing the 1040NR) then you can’t claim your wife as a dependent, you would claim her as your spouse and file a married filing jointly return. It’s a better tax rate, and you still get the same exemption for her like if she were a dependent.
If you are filing a 1040NR – then you would claim your wife as a dependent. (Note to other people reading this – this only works for citizens of India. If you’re from another country filing a 1040NR, you cannot claim your spouse as a dependent.) If you are claiming them as dependents, you want to cite Article 22(2) of the US/India tax treaty.
But I’m guessing that you are filing a resident return, the regular 1040. So, you may want to claim “married filing jointly” and claim your child as a dependent. As a US resident, you are subject to all the same tax rules as US citizens. Here’s the catch – if your wife is working in India, and you file a US tax return with her making the election to be treated as a US resident for tax purposes – then you will be required to pay US income taxes on her Indian income. So—you may want to think that through before you file jointly with her
You may always elect to file as married filing separately if you want to exclude her income from your US tax return. And you could still claim your child as a dependent
Of course, you’ll have to fill out the W7 and get them tax identification numbers. I hope that helps a little.
Hi, I am married from 2014 and came to US alone in 2015 (H1B). Now my wife and my child(10 months old)will be travelling to US on Jan 2017. So can I claim them as dependents if I file my 2016 tax return after their travel to US??
Hi Biju,
So you are married with two children. But you and your spouse live apart, but you see each other on weekends. Is that right? Usually, when a couple is married and has children, it would make the most sense to file as married filing jointly. (The other option being married filing separately – which is usually not the best choice.)
Hi, Coming year 2016, I have an apartment and lives in the same and pays rents and other expenses.
My spouse earns income and take care of two children and has an apartment and pays all bills even rent.
During the weekend I visit them.
During the first six months we had a joint brokerage account and suffered a loss in the same and no more transaction have occurred during the second half of the year (2016).
Please suggest a best filing status for the year 2016.
Hi Raju,
This is a little out of my league so you might want to check with an immigration attorney. As I understand it, the I-864 form states that your mother will have adequate means of financial support and therefore will not be likely to require financial support from the US government. My interpretation of getting an Obamacare subsidy is that it is financial support from the US government. I’m not an attorney so you need to talk to someone to make sure you’re not violating any immigration rule there. Sorry.
My mother arrived here end of July after she got her GC (from India). I signed her affidvait of support (I-864)
Her income back home from pension is less than $2500.
Now that she is here, can she file her taxes on her own. I am exploring possibility of her buying Obama care insurance instead of me so that she can get subsidy.
Hi Marie,
It sounds to me like your parents are not even in the United States yet, so no, you will not be able to claim them as dependents for 2016.
Hi, i petitioned my parents through i-130, if ever they will arrived February 2017, am I able to claim them as dependents for 2016 tax?
Hi Jan,
I’m a single mom of a 8 year old. My husband passed away 6 years ago. My parents will be getting their immigrant visa next month. They will be going back and forth between Germany and the USA. In the USA they will be living with me. My parents are not retired yet. They both have part-time jobs at the moment in Germany. My mom is 55 years old and my dad is 60 years old. Can I claim them on my taxes?
Hi Dvarkadhish,
Congratulations on being reunited with your wife and child! You may amend your 2013, 14 and 15 that returns to claim married filing jointly and add the dependency exemption for your child. This may not apply to you, but I’ll tell you anyway just in case – if you would be entitled to a refundable credit – like Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit or the American Opportunity Tax Credit – you can’t qualify for those for any years before your wife and child had social security numbers. (It used to be that you could go back and amend returns for those credits, but the rules changed recently.)
But still, the tax rate for married filing jointly is lower than for head of household, and you’ll have two more exemptions so it’s definitely worth amending your returns! UNLESS!!!–This is important – if your wife had income in Pakistan – then it might not be a benefit to you to file jointly. Remember, the IRS taxes world wide income. So, if she had a job in Pakistan while you were here, and you change your filing status, then all of her Pakistani income becomes taxable. (You can get a credit for taxes paid to another country – so it might not be such a bad thing, but you still need to report the income.
But if she had no income and was surviving on money you sent home to her – then by all means, amend your return to filing jointly. Good luck!
Hi Gopal,
You know, you could file an extension so that you can wait until they are here when you file. Make sure that you pay any tax you might owe with the extension, but you can have them here when you’re applying for the ITIN. It will make things much easier for you. Good luck.
Hi Prem Anand,
If they stay for more than 183 days. Remember the day they arrive only counts as half a day and the day they leave only counts as half a day. If they are here on a tourist visa – they should not be able to be here for more than 183 days.
If you claim them as dependents, you must also provide them with American health insurance – or pay the penalty for not insuring your family. (This can be really expensive.)
And, remember, they have to meet all of the other qualifications as well.
Everyone: if you are planning on claiming a dependent, use the IRS can I claim a dependent interactive tool. If you answer the questions honestly, it will give you the right answer. Here’s the link: https://www.irs.gov/uac/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent
Married,but filed tax return a HH because my mother lives with me. My wife and child lived in Pakistan. They arrived in June 16, 2016 as permanent residence with valid SS#,
question…Am I eligible to amend my 2015,2014 & 2013 claiming my wife and my child? I was told that I can amend last 3 years tax return.
Thanks for the detail clarification Jan, I am planning to bring them back next year sometime around March/April again so will it be good that i can apply for their ITIN now or should i apply while they are back but i am not sure if they come before i file return for next year. My Question is if they come again in March and leave by september they will not be here when i actually files so not sure how they will get ITIN.
Appreciate all your valuable inputs because i met one of the tax consultant here and he is misguiding me.
Regards
Gopal
Hi Joe,
I don’t understand about not qualifying to file. They don’t have to file, but if they want to apply for Obamacare they must file. Now since their income is so low, by might not qualify for Obamacare, but might qualify for medicaid or medicare – it all depends upon your state and how old they are. I would talk to an insurance specialist about that. I am definitely not an expert on health insurance.
I’m also not an expert on banking, but I’m pretty sure they can get direct deposit on their pensions. I don’t have experience with Indian pensions, but I’ve got a couple of clients with foreign pensions being direct deposited into their US bank accounts. Citibank has both US and Indian locations, that might make it easier if you have an account there, but I’m sure there are other banks that would work also.
Okay so I just kind of gave advice on health insurance and banking. Sorry, I’m not supposed to do either of those.
Hi Gopal,
Now we’re going to get into that “splitting hairs” area. Your parents arrived on March 19 – that only counts as a half day. The day they leave will also not count as a full day.
The whole idea behind the tourist visa is so that they are not in the country for over half the year. Sorry.
But – on the bright side, let’s say they somehow stayed an extra couple of days. Then if you claimed them as dependents, you would also need to prove that you had provided them with health insurance for the entire year or pay the penalty for not having insurance. So you’re probably coming out ahead by not claiming them anyway.
Hello Jan,
My parents will be with me in US for 183 days, can I claim for them ?. Thanks in advance.
I believe, if parents stay more than 180 days, they qualify right ?
Hi Jan,
I have a question. My parents became green card holders in 2015. My father is a pensioner and receives about $5500 annual income from india. I did not claim them as my dependants on my returns and was hoping to file a joint return for him and wife to get Obama care. Unfortunately my tax consultant said they did not qualify to file due to min income not met. Is that true? Also another question is, Can they get a direct deposit of his pension from India to a US bank. Each time he uses his Indian debit card in US,a fee is being charged and I was looking for another option without a fee. Pl advice
Hi Jan – Thanks for the confirmation but technically they are here for 183 days if we count from March 19th 2016 and i have gone through the earlier post it says they need to be here for atleast 183 days to be declared as dependent ofcourse there are other test too.
Regards
Gopal
Hi Gopal,
The visitor visa only allows them to stay for 6 months so they will be here for less than 1/2 of the year. So no, you cannot claim them as dependents.
Hi, My parents came to USA on visitor visa on March 19th 2016 at 7:00 AM CT and will be leaving on Sept 18th 2016 at 2:00 PM CT. Can i still claim them as dependent this year and get their W7 complete in advance before they leave USA? Thanks!
Hi Tanya,
Most likely, the amount of interest they will earn on their US bank account will be less than the filing requirement so it is unlikely they would need to file a US tax return. (The exemption for 2015 was $4000. If they earn less than that, they will have no filing requirement in the US for them.)
Have a great visit with your family!
Hi Jan,
Greatly appreciate your patient responses to all the questions here. Just reading through them, most of my questions have been answered.
Now on to my situation:
My parents are coming to US on GC, July-end and will return to India in Dec. I plan to get a savings account open for them where they can deposit the money(USD 25000) they are bringing with them.
My question is, as they will get a 1099 for the interest, do I need to file a tax return for them for 2015?
Hi Honeyjet,
I think you may be able to get an exemption for them from needing healthcare because they were not citizens but resident aliens for most of the year. They will need insurance for 2016 though.