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 Celestine,
You do not need to claim her. May you claim her? Probably not. She was with you for “up to” 6 months, but not more than, so you would not be able to claim her. Sorry
Hi Nagaraju,
If they are in the US for more than 6 months during the tax year AND they must meet all of the other requirements as well.
Hi Raman,
No, you may not.
I am a permanent resident, My mum came from Nigeria to be with us for a while, She was with me for up to 6months.I took %100 care of her needs including out of pocket medical expenses, feeding and accommodation.Do i need to claim her?
I heard that if they stay more than 6 months in any tax year, we are eligible to claim them as dependents?
Hi,
I am on my H-1 B but will be filing as a non resident alien as fr part of 2017 I was on OPT. My mother stayed with me for 5 months and I support her, can I apply for an ITIN and claim her as a dependent?
Hi Beowulf,
No. We do things like support our parents, our children, other family members because it’s the right thing to do. It’s not a loss of income, it’s a choice of how we spend our income. The only credit we get for it is knowing that we did the right thing.
I’m supporting my parents who reside in a foreign country and they’re definitely not a permanent resident of US. Based on all these comments and all what I have read, I cannot claim them as dependents. But the fact remains that the money is out of my pocket that went to support them. How do I claim this loss of income? Is there any way to get credit for it? Thanks.
Hi RK,
I hate to do this to you, but it depends. Your best answer here is on the IRS website: Whom May I Claim as a Dependent?
Hi,
My Wife and Daughter are out of country from Oct, 2016. But i am supporting my family from the day they left from USA. Can i claim them as my dependents for the Tax Return (2017)?
Hi Moe,
I’m putting a link to the IRS website here about Who Can I Claim as a Dependent?
My gut is that yes you can, but please go to the assistant and make sure you go through all of the questions in case I’m missing something. For example, your parents can’t file a joint return. I’m thinking they won’t even file – but that’s another stipulation. It will take you less than 5 minutes, and it will give you a little peace of mind doing the IRS interview.
That said, your situation is different from most people on this page in that your parents are US Citizens. That eliminates the residency requirement.
Hi Jan,
Thank you for the helpful article. My parents are U.S. Citizens with active social security numbers but live outside North America. They make under the gross income threshold and I provide for more than half of their support. Am I still able to claim my U.S. citizen parents as dependents on my 2017 tax return, even if they reside abroad for most of the year?
Thank you for your advice.
Hi Naresh,
So since they were only here since August, they wouldn’t meet the substantial presence test for 2017 alone. You’re going to need to do the substantial presence test for the three year period. Here’s a link to the IRS web-site to determine that: Substantial Presence Test
My guess is that you would meet the test. Follow the rest of the instructions in the post.
Hi.
I am on H1b visa, my parents are here in USA on B1/B2 visa since august 2017, and they were also here last year around 175 days , also in 2015 for same amount of days.
Can i claim both my parents as dependent ? if yes whats the procedure ,
quick response will be highly appreciated
Thanks
Hi Sam,
The B1 Visa means that their days in the US count as being present, you you meet the US resident status even though they weren’t in the US for 183 days in 2017. You will need to complete form W7 for them to get them ITIN numbers. You will submit the W7 with your federal income tax return. The easiest way to do this is to have your parents go with you to Taxpayer Assistance Center and have them verify your parent’s documents in person. Here’s a link to find the center closest to you. TACS
If your parents are back in India, it’s going to be a little more difficult to verify those documents. You can mail their passports with your tax return (I always hate doing that.) You might want to wait until they are back in the country so that you can have the documents verified in person. If they’ll be back soon, then just wait for them to return before filing your return. If they won’t be back for awhile, you can file your return now, without them, and amend the return after they are back. You have up to three years to amend your return for a refund.
1) My parents are B1 Visa holders.
2) They were in US for a certain period in last 3 years; according to below link for the substantial presence test, they do qualify as resident alien for tax purpose.
[167 days @ 2017, 19 days @ 2016, 159 days @ 2015; all days present in 2017 (167 ), 30% of days present in 2016 (19 x 0.3=5.7), 20% of days present in 2015(159 x 0.2=31.8). The total number of days calculated for substantial presence test for the last 3 years is 167+5+31=203 days.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/substantial-presence-test
3) My parents were staying with me in my home for the above duration
4) I do support 100% of expense while in US and more than half of their expense while in India
5) My parents combined annual income is less than $4000, I do provide the travel expense, medical insurance.
6) My parents do not have any SSN / ITIN.
Clarifications:
a) Can I claim my Indian citizen parents (B 1 Visa, whose income is less than $4000) as dependents for my 2017 tax filing, married filing jointly?
b) What are the documents needed to support this tax filing?
(Passport/ Visa stamping)
Hi Ming,
Hmmmmm. I’m not an immigration specialist, but I believe there may be issues with maintaining green card status when a person is out of the US for too long. I’m assuming that she’s done all the things she needs to do to maintain that status.
But here’s the rub – if she’s not a green card holder- then she’s not a resident, and then you couldn’t claim her. And, if immigration were to rescind her green card, they do notify the IRS. I’m just pointing that out to make you aware.
So, you might be able to claim her. I’m going to give you the link to the IRS assistant for claiming a dependent.
Hi Jan,
My mother is a US greencard holder. She split her stay in US & home country. In 2016, she lived with me for 4 months. In 2014, she lived for 5 months. Not came to US in 2015. Can I claim her as a dependent in my 2016 tax return?
Thank you
Hi Mani,
Welcome to America!
First, since you have only been in the US since September 20th, neither one of your children may claim you as a dependent for 2016.
For 2017 – whoever is supporting you could claim you. Now, it sounds like your children are both supporting you. They can choose between them who claims you. Your income will not be added to theirs on their tax returns.
My wife(74 years) & me (78 years) entered USA as permanent citizens (Green Card) on Sept 20, 2016. We were sponsored by our son who is a US citizen. From Sept 20, 2016, till Dec 31, 2016(& beyond) we stayed with our daughter who is also a US citizen. Our income in India during 2016 would be $ 4,800. My doubts are:
1. Can our daughter claim as dependent though we were sponsored by our son who had filed the required affidavit of support?.
2. Will our income of $ 4800 be added to her income?.