and your spouse. Furthermore, there are the
exemptions for dependents which include exemptions for qualifying child and
for qualifying relative.
Generally, if you are a nonresident alien (other
than a resident of Canada or Mexico, or certain residents of
India or Korea), you can qualify for only one personal exemption
for yourself. If you are a nonresident alien you cannot take an exemption
for your spouse or for your dependents. Residents of Mexico, Canada and
certain residents from India and South Korea have special privileges
in claiming exemptions for their spouses, children and other certain
relatives.
If you file a separate tax return, you can claim
an exemption for your spouse only if your spouse had no gross income and is
not filing a tax return and was not a dependent of another taxpayer.You generally cannot claim a married person as a
dependent if he or she files a joint tax return, unless he or
she files only to claim for a refund and no tax liability would exist for
either spouse on separate tax returns. Additionally, you generally cannot claim a
married person as a dependent if he or she files a joint tax return only if
they file a joint tax return to get a refund of the withheld taxes.
Although a child can be a qualifying child of
more than one person, only one person can actually treat the
child as a qualifying child to take an exemption for the child
and the Head of Household filing status. Only one person can take the Child
Tax Credit and the Earned Income Credit for that child. Also, only one
person can claim the Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses and the
exclusion from income for dependent care benefits. To determine which person can treat the child as
a qualifying child to claim certain tax benefits, and in regards
to the tiebreaker rules, if only one of the persons is the child's parent,
the child is treated as the qualifying child of that parent.
There are four tests that must be met for a
person to be your qualifying relative. The residency test is not one
of these tests. A qualifying
relative does not have to be under 19 at the end of the year and
they don't have to be younger
than you. To be your qualifying child, a child who is not
permanently and totally disabled must be younger than you or
your spouse. As long as the qualifying child is younger than one spouse is
enough to meet this test. A step-parent, a legally adopted child or foster
child does not have to live with you all year as a member of your household
to meet the member of household or relationship test. However, a foster
parent must live with you all year as a member of your household in order to
meet the member of household or relationship test.
For example, your spouse's uncle who receives more than half
of his support from you may be your qualifying relative, even though he does not live with you. If you and your spouse
file separate tax returns, your spouse's uncle can be your
qualifying relative only if he lives with you all year as a
member of your household. The year you provide the support is the year you
pay for it even if you pay for the support with borrowed funds.
Capital items, such as furniture, appliances, and
cars, that are bought for a person during the year can be
included in total support. If you buy a $150 TV set as a
birthday present for your 12-year-old child and the TV set is placed in your
child's bedroom only for you child to use, it is considered
support you provided. If you buy an item that is to benefit the
entire family such a lawnmower so the child can keep the lawn trimmed, this
item would not be considered support towards the child. Likewise, if you buy
