A dependent is someone who is unable to care for or support themselves and looks for such care and/or support from another. Under the tax rules of the Internal Revenue service, a person may claim a tax exemption for a dependent who has a certain relationship to the taxpayer, such as a son or daughter, brother or sister, mother or father, etc., or who makes the taxpayer's household his or her primary residence.
A person qualifying as your dependent generally may be your child, stepchild, adopted child, grand child, great-grand child, son or daughter in law, father or mother in law, brother or sister in law, parent, brother, sister, grand parent, step-parent, stepbrother or sister, half brother or sister, and, if related by blood, uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew. The above relatives do not have to live with you.
Also, any person, whether or not you are related to them, who is a member of your household for the entire tax year, except for temporary absences; must receive less than a statutorily defined amount of gross income, unless the dependent is your child and either under age 19 or a full-time student under age 24; must receive more than one-half of his or her support from you; cannot file a joint tax return with his or her spouse, unless the joint tax return is filed solely to obtain a tax refund when neither the child nor the spouse is required to file a tax return; and must be a U.S. citizen or national, or a resident of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.
