Table of Contents
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, whether you must file a federal income tax return depends on your gross income, your filing status, your age, and whether you are a dependent. For details, see Table 1 and Table 2. You also must file if one of the situations described in Table 3 applies. The filing requirements apply even if you owe no tax.
You may have to pay a penalty if you are required to file a return but fail to do so. If you willfully fail to file a return, you may be subject to criminal prosecution.
For information on what form to use — Form 1040EZ, Form 1040A, or Form 1040 — see the instructions for your tax return.
You must file a return if your gross income for the year was at least the amount shown on the appropriate line in Table 1. Dependents should see Table 2 instead.
You must file an income tax return for a decedent (a person who died) if both of the following are true.
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You are the surviving spouse, executor, administrator, or legal representative.
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The decedent met the filing requirements described in this publication at the time of his or her death.
For more information, see Final Income Tax Return for Decedent — Form 1040 in Publication 559.
See Exemptions for Dependents to find out if you are a dependent.
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If your parent (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use this table to see if you must file a return. | |
In this table, unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust. Earned income includes salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and taxable scholarship and fellowship grants. Gross income is the total of your unearned and earned income. | |
Caution.If your gross income was $3,700 or more, you usually cannot be claimed as a dependent unless you are a qualifying child. For details, see Exemptions for Dependents. | |
Single dependents— Were you either age 65 or older or blind? | |
□ | No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
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□ | Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
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Married dependents—Were you either age 65 or older or blind? | |
□ | No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
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□ | Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
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For purposes of determining whether you must file a return, you must include in your gross income all of the income you earned or received abroad, including any income you can exclude under the foreign earned income exclusion. For more information on special tax rules that may apply to you, see Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.
Generally, if you are a U.S. citizen and a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico, you must file a U.S. income tax return if you meet the income requirements. This is in addition to any legal requirement you may have to file an income tax return with Puerto Rico.
If you are a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico for the whole year, your U.S. gross income does not include income from sources within Puerto Rico. However, include in your U.S. gross income any income you received for your services as an employee of the United States or any U.S. agency. If you receive income from Puerto Rican sources that is not subject to U.S. tax, you must reduce your standard deduction, which reduces the amount of income you can have before you must file a U.S. income tax return.
For more information, see Publication 570, Tax Guide for Individuals With Income From U.S. Possessions.
If you had income from Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, special rules may apply when determining whether you must file a U.S. federal income tax return. In addition, you may have to file a return with the individual possession government. See Publication 570 for more information.
A person who is a dependent may still have to file a return. This depends on the amount of the dependent's earned income, unearned income, and gross income. For details, see Table 2. A dependent may also have to file if one of the situations described in Table 3 applies.
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Your child was under age 19 (or under age 24 if a full-time student) at the end of 2011. (A child born on January 1, 1993, is considered to be age 19 at the end of 2011; you cannot make the election for this child unless the child was a full-time student. Similarly, a child born on January 1, 1988, is considered to be age 24 at the end of 2011; you cannot make the election for this child.)
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Your child had gross income only from interest and dividends (including capital gain distributions and Alaska Permanent Fund dividends).
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The interest and dividend income was less than $9,500.
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Your child is required to file a return for 2011 unless you make this election.
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Your child does not file a joint return for 2011.
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No estimated tax payment was made for 2011 and no 2010 overpayment was applied to 2011 under your child's name and social security number.
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No federal income tax was withheld from your child's income under the backup withholding rules.
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You are the parent whose return must be used when making the election to report your child's unearned income.
You may have to file a tax return even if your gross income is less than the amount shown in Table 1 or Table 2 for your filing status. See Table 3 for those other situations when you must file.
If any of the four conditions listed below applied to you for 2011, you must file a return. | ||
1. | You owe any special taxes, including any of the following. | |
a. | Alternative minimum tax. (See Form 6251.) | |
b. | Additional tax on a qualified plan, including an individual retirement arrangement (IRA), or other tax-favored account. (See Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), and Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans.) But if you are filing a return only because you owe this tax, you can file Form 5329 by itself. | |
c. | Social security or Medicare tax on tips you did not report to your employer (see Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income) or on wages you received from an employer who did not withhold these taxes (see Form 8919). | |
d. | Write-in taxes, including uncollected social security, Medicare, or railroad retirement tax on tips you reported to your employer or on group-term life insurance and additional tax on health savings accounts. (See Publication 531, Publication 969, and the Form 1040 instructions for line 60.) | |
e. | Household employment taxes. But if you are filing a return only because you owe these taxes, you can file Schedule H by itself. | |
f. | Recapture taxes. (See the Form 1040 instructions for lines 44, 59b, and 60.) | |
2. | You (or your spouse, if filing jointly) received Archer MSA, Medicare Advantage MSA, or health savings account distributions. | |
3. | You had net earnings from self-employment of at least $400. (See Schedule SE (Form 1040) and its instructions.) | |
4. | You had wages of $108.28 or more from a church or qualified church-controlled organization that is exempt from employer social security and Medicare taxes. (See Schedule SE (Form 1040) and its instructions.) |
Even if you do not have to file, you should file a tax return if you can get money back. For example, you should file if one of the following applies.
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You had income tax withheld from your pay.
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You made estimated tax payments for the year or had any of your overpayment for last year applied to this year's estimated tax.
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You qualify for the earned income credit. See Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC), for more information.
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You qualify for the additional child tax credit. See the instructions for the tax form you file (Form 1040 or 1040A) for more information on this credit.
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You qualify for the refundable American opportunity education credit. See Form 8863, Education Credits.
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You qualify for the health coverage tax credit. For information about this credit, see Form 8885, Health Coverage Tax Credit.
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You qualify for the refundable credit for prior year minimum tax. See Form 8801, Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax — Individuals, Estates, and Trusts.
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You qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit. See Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit.
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You qualify for the credit for federal tax on fuels. See Form 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels.
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You qualify for the adoption credit. See Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses.
You must determine your filing status before you can determine your filing requirements, standard deduction (discussed later), and correct tax. You figure your correct tax by using the section of the Tax Computation Worksheet or the column in the Tax Table that applies to your filing status.
You also use your filing status in determining whether you are eligible to claim certain other deductions and credits.
There are five filing statuses:
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Single,
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Married Filing Jointly,
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Married Filing Separately,
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Head of Household, and
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Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child.
If more than one filing status applies to you, choose the one that will give you the lowest tax.
In general, your filing status depends on whether you are considered unmarried or married. For federal tax purposes, a marriage means only a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife. The word “spouse” means a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.
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You are married and living together as husband and wife.
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You are living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in the state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began.
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You are married and living apart, but not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
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You are separated under an interlocutory (not final) decree of divorce. For purposes of filing a joint return, you are not considered divorced.
Your filing status is single if, on the last day of the year, you are unmarried or legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance decree, and you do not qualify for another filing status. To determine your marital status on the last day of the year, see Marital Status , earlier.
You can choose married filing jointly as your filing status if you are married and both you and your spouse agree to file a joint return. On a joint return, you report your combined income and deduct your combined allowable expenses. You can file a joint return even if one of you had no income or deductions.
If you and your spouse decide to file a joint return, your tax may be lower than your combined tax for the other filing statuses. Also, your standard deduction (if you do not itemize deductions) may be higher, and you may qualify for tax benefits that do not apply to other filing statuses.
If you and your spouse each have income, you may want to figure your tax both on a joint return and on separate returns (using the filing status of married filing separately). You can choose the method that gives the two of you the lower combined tax.
Both you and your spouse must include all of your income, exemptions, and deductions on your joint return.
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Innocent spouse relief.
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Separation of liability, which applies to joint filers who are divorced, widowed, legally separated, or who have not lived together for the 12 months ending on the date election of this relief is filed.
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Equitable relief.
You can choose married filing separately as your filing status if you are married. This filing status may benefit you if you want to be responsible only for your own tax or if it results in less tax than filing a joint return.
If you and your spouse do not agree to file a joint return, you have to use this filing status unless you qualify for head of household status, discussed later.
You may be able to choose head of household filing status if you live apart from your spouse, meet certain tests, and are considered unmarried (explained later, under Head of Household ). This can apply to you even if you are not divorced or legally separated. If you qualify to file as head of household, instead of as married filing separately, your tax may be lower, you may be able to claim the earned income credit and certain other credits, and your standard deduction will be higher. The head of household filing status allows you to choose the standard deduction even if your spouse chooses to itemize deductions. See Head of Household , later, for more information.
You will generally pay more combined tax on separate returns than you would on a joint return for the reasons listed under Special Rules, later. However, unless you are required to file separately, you should figure your tax both ways (on a joint return and on separate returns). This way you can make sure you are using the filing status that results in the lowest combined tax. When figuring the combined tax of husband and wife, you may want to consider state taxes as well as federal taxes.
If you choose married filing separately as your filing status, the following special rules apply. Because of these special rules, you will usually pay more tax on a separate return than if you used another filing status that you qualify for.
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Your tax rate generally will be higher than it would be on a joint return.
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Your exemption amount for figuring the alternative minimum tax will be half that allowed to a joint return filer.
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You cannot take the credit for child and dependent care expenses in most cases, and the amount that you can exclude from income under an employer's dependent care assistance program is limited to $2,500 (instead of $5,000 if you filed a joint return). If you are legally separated or living apart from your spouse, you may be able to file a separate return and still take the credit. See Joint Return Test in Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, for more information.
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You cannot take the earned income credit.
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You cannot take the exclusion or credit for adoption expenses in most cases.
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You cannot take the education credits (the American opportunity credit and lifetime learning credit), the deduction for student loan interest, or the tuition and fees deduction.
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You cannot exclude any interest income from qualified U.S. savings bonds that you used for higher education expenses.
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If you lived with your spouse at any time during the tax year:
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You cannot claim the credit for the elderly or the disabled, and
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You will have to include in income more (up to 85%) of any social security or equivalent railroad retirement benefits you received.
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The following credits are reduced at income levels that are half of those for a joint return:
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The child tax credit, and
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The retirement savings contributions credit.
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Your capital loss deduction limit is $1,500 (instead of $3,000 if you filed a joint return).
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If your spouse itemizes deductions, you cannot claim the standard deduction. If you can claim the standard deduction, your basic standard deduction is half the amount allowed on a joint return.
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Your first-time homebuyer credit is limited to $4,000 (instead of $8,000 if you filed a joint return). If the special rule for long-time residents of the same main home applies, the credit is limited to $3,250 (instead of $6,500 if you filed a joint return).
You can change your filing status by filing an amended return using Form 1040X.
If you or your spouse (or both of you) file a separate return, you generally can change to a joint return any time within 3 years from the due date of the separate return or returns. This does not include any extensions. A separate return includes a return filed by you or your spouse claiming married filing separately, single, or head of household filing status.
Once you file a joint return, you cannot choose to file separate returns for that year after the due date of the return.
You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all the following requirements.
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You are unmarried or “considered unmarried” on the last day of the year.
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You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
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A “qualifying person” lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the “qualifying person” is your dependent parent, he or she does not have to live with you. See Special rule for parent , later, under Qualifying Person.
If you qualify to file as head of household, your tax rate usually will be lower than the rates for single or married filing separately. You will also receive a higher standard deduction than if you file as single or married filing separately.
To qualify for head of household status, you must be either unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests.
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You file a separate return (defined earlier under Joint Return After Separate Returns ).
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You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.
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Your spouse did not live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances. See Temporary absences , later.
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Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year. (See Home of qualifying person , later, for rules applying to a child's birth, death, or temporary absence during the year.)
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You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. However, you meet this test if you cannot claim the exemption only because the noncustodial parent can claim the child using the rules described later in Children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart under Qualifying Child or in Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents or Parents Who Live Apart under Qualifying Relative. The general rules for claiming an exemption for a dependent are explained later under Exemptions for Dependents .
If you were considered married for part of the year and lived in a community property state (listed earlier under Married Filing Separately), special rules may apply in determining your income and expenses. See Publication 555 for more information.
To qualify for head of household status, you must pay more than half of the cost of keeping up a home for the year. You can determine whether you paid more than half of the cost of keeping up a home by using the following worksheet.
Amount You Paid |
Total Cost |
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Property taxes | $ | $ |
Mortgage interest expense | ||
Rent | ||
Utility charges | ||
Repairs/maintenance | ||
Property insurance | ||
Food consumed on the premises |
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Other household expenses | ||
Totals | $ | $ |
Minus total amount you paid | ( ) | |
Amount others paid | $ | |
If the total amount you paid is more than the amount others paid, you meet the requirement of paying more than half the cost of keeping up the home. |
See Table 4, later, to see who is a qualifying person.
Any person not described in Table 4 is not a qualifying person.
Example 1—child.
Your unmarried son lived with you all year and was 18 years old at the end of the year. He did not provide more than half of his own support and does not meet the tests to be a qualifying child of anyone else. As a result, he is your qualifying child (see Qualifying Child , later) and, because he is single, is a qualifying person for you to claim head of household filing status.
Example 2—child who is not qualifying person.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your son was 25 years old at the end of the year and his gross income was $5,000. Because he does not meet the age test (explained later under Qualifying Child), your son is not your qualifying child. Because he does not meet the gross income test (explained later under Qualifying Relative), he is not your qualifying relative. As a result, he is not your qualifying person for head of household purposes.
Example 3—girlfriend.
Your girlfriend lived with you all year. Even though she may be your qualifying relative if the gross income and support tests (explained later) are met, she is not your qualifying person for head of household purposes because she is not related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you . See Table 4.
Example 4—girlfriend's child.
The facts are the same as in Example 3 except your girlfriend's 10-year-old son also lived with you all year. He is not your qualifying child and, because he is your girlfriend's qualifying child, he is not your qualifying relative (see Not a Qualifying Child Test , later). As a result, he is not your qualifying person for head of household purposes.
Example.
You are unmarried. Your mother, for whom you can claim an exemption, lived in an apartment by herself. She died on September 2. The cost of the upkeep of her apartment for the year until her death was $6,000. You paid $4,000 and your brother paid $2,000. Your brother made no other payments towards your mother's support. Your mother had no income. Because you paid more than half of the cost of keeping up your mother's apartment from January 1 until her death, and you can claim an exemption for her, you can file as a head of household.
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The child must be presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a member of your family or the child's family.
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In the year of the kidnapping, the child lived with you for more than half the part of the year before the kidnapping.
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You would have qualified for head of household filing status if the child had not been kidnapped.
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The year there is a determination that the child is dead, or
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The year the child would have reached age 18.
If your spouse died in 2011, you can use married filing jointly as your filing status for 2011 if you otherwise qualify to use that status. The year of death is the last year for which you can file jointly with your deceased spouse. See Married Filing Jointly , earlier.
You may be eligible to use qualifying widow(er) with dependent child as your filing status for 2 years following the year your spouse died. For example, if your spouse died in 2010 and you have not remarried, you may be able to use this filing status for 2011 and 2012. The rules for using this filing status are explained in detail here.
This filing status entitles you to use joint return tax rates and the highest standard deduction amount (if you do not itemize deductions). This status does not entitle you to file a joint return.
Caution. See the text of this publication for the other requirements you must meet to claim head of household filing status.
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IF the person is your . . . | AND . . . | THEN that person is . . . | ||
qualifying child (such as a son, daughter, or grandchild who lived with you more than half the year and meets certain other tests)2 | he or she is single | a qualifying person, whether or not you can claim an exemption for the person. | ||
he or she is married and you can claim an exemption for him or her | a qualifying person. | |||
he or she is married and you cannot claim an exemption for him or her | not a qualifying person.3 | |||
qualifying relative4 who is your father or mother | you can claim an exemption for him or her5 | a qualifying person.6 | ||
you cannot claim an exemption for him or her | not a qualifying person. | |||
qualifying relative4 other than your father or mother (such as a grandparent, brother, or sister who meets certain tests). | he or she lived with you more than half the year, and he or she is related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you , later, and you can claim an exemption for him or her5 | a qualifying person. | ||
he or she did not live with you more than half the year | not a qualifying person. | |||
he or she is not related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you , later, and is your qualifying relative only because he or she lived with you all year as a member of your household | not a qualifying person. | |||
you cannot claim an exemption for him or her | not a qualifying person. |
1A person cannot qualify more than one taxpayer to use the head of household filing status for the year. | ||
2The term “qualifying child” is defined under Exemptions for Dependents, later. Note: If you are a noncustodial parent, the term “qualifying child” for head of household filing status does not include a child who is your qualifying child for exemption purposes only because of the rules described under Children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart under Qualifying Child, later. If you are the custodial parent and those rules apply, the child generally is your qualifying child for head of household filing status even though the child is not a qualifying child for whom you can claim an exemption. | ||
3 This person is a qualifying person if the only reason you cannot claim the exemption is that you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return. | ||
4The term “qualifying relative” is defined under Exemptions for Dependents, later. | ||
5If you can claim an exemption for a person only because of a multiple support agreement, that person is not a qualifying person. See Multiple Support Agreement . | ||
6See Special rule for parent for an additional requirement. |
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You were entitled to file a joint return with your spouse for the year your spouse died. It does not matter whether you actually filed a joint return.
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Your spouse died in 2009 or 2010 and you did not remarry before the end of 2011.
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You have a child or stepchild for whom you can claim an exemption. This does not include a foster child.
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This child lived in your home all year, except for temporary absences. See Temporary absences , earlier, under Head of Household. There are also exceptions, described later, for a child who was born or died during the year and for a kidnapped child.
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You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year. See Keeping Up a Home , earlier, under Head of Household.
Example.
John Reed's wife died in 2009. John has not remarried. He has continued during 2010 and 2011 to keep up a home for himself and his child, who lives with him and for whom he can claim an exemption. For 2009 he was entitled to file a joint return for himself and his deceased wife. For 2010 and 2011, he can file as a qualifying widower with a dependent child. After 2011, he can file as head of household if he qualifies.
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The child must be presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a member of your family or the child's family.
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In the year of the kidnapping, the child lived with you for more than half the part of the year before the kidnapping.
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You would have qualified for qualifying widow(er) with dependent child filing status if the child had not been kidnapped.
As mentioned earlier, this filing status is available for only 2 years following the year your spouse died.
Exemptions reduce your taxable income. You can deduct $3,700 for each exemption you claim in 2011. If you are entitled to two exemptions for 2011, you can deduct $7,400 ($3,700 × 2).
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Personal exemptions for yourself and your spouse, and
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Exemptions for dependents (dependency exemptions).
You are generally allowed one exemption for yourself. If you are married, you may be allowed one exemption for your spouse. These are called personal exemptions.
You can take one exemption for yourself unless you can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. If another taxpayer is entitled to claim you as a dependent, you cannot take an exemption for yourself even if the other taxpayer does not actually claim you as a dependent.
Your spouse is never considered your dependent.
You are allowed one exemption for each person you can claim as a dependent. You can claim an exemption for a dependent even if your dependent files a return.
The term “dependent” means:
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A qualifying child, or
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A qualifying relative.
The terms “ qualifying child ” and “ qualifying relative ” are defined later.
You can claim an exemption for a qualifying child or qualifying relative only if these three tests are met.
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Dependent taxpayer test.
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Joint return test.
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Citizen or resident test.
These three tests are explained in detail later.
All the requirements for claiming an exemption for a dependent are summarized in Table 5.
Caution. This table is only an overview of the rules. For details, see the rest of this publication.
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Tests To Be a Qualifying Child | Tests To Be a Qualifying Relative |
If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. See the Special Rule for Qualifying Child of More Than One Person described later to find out which person is the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child. |
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1There is an exception for certain adopted children. | |
2There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, children of divorced or separated parents or | |
parents who live apart, and kidnapped children. | |
3There is an exception if the person is disabled and has income from a sheltered workshop. | |
4There are exceptions for multiple support agreements, children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart, and kidnapped | |
children. |
Dependent not allowed a personal exemption. If you can claim an exemption for your dependent, the dependent cannot claim his or her own personal exemption on his or her own tax return. This is true even if you do not claim the dependent's exemption on your return.
If you could be claimed as a dependent by another person, you cannot claim anyone else as a dependent. Even if you have a qualifying child or qualifying relative, you cannot claim that person as a dependent.
If you are filing a joint return and your spouse could be claimed as a dependent by someone else, you and your spouse cannot claim any dependents on your joint return.
You generally cannot claim a married person as a dependent if he or she files a joint return.
An exception to the joint return test applies if your child and his or her spouse file a joint return only as a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for either spouse on separate returns.
Example 1.
You supported your 18-year-old daughter, and she lived with you all year while her husband was in the Armed Forces. The couple files a joint return. You cannot take an exemption for your daughter.
Example 2.
Your 18-year-old son and his 17-year-old wife had $800 of wages from part-time jobs and no other income. Neither is required to file a tax return. They do not have a child. Taxes were taken out of their pay so they file a joint return only to get a refund of the withheld taxes. The exception to the joint return test applies, so you are not disqualified from claiming an exemption for each of them just because they file a joint return. You can claim exemptions for each of them if all the other tests to do so are met.
Example 3.
The facts are the same as in Example 2 except your son is 26 years old and had $2,000 of wages. No taxes were taken out of his pay, and he and his wife are not required to file a tax return. However, they file a joint return to claim an earned income credit of $155 and get a refund of that amount. They file the return to get the earned income credit, so they are not filing it only as a claim for refund. The exception to the joint return test does not apply, so you cannot claim an exemption for either of them.
You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. However, there is an exception for certain adopted children, as explained next.
There are five tests that must be met for a child to be your qualifying child. The five tests are:
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Relationship,
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Age,
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Residency,
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Support, and
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Joint return.
These tests are explained next.
If a child meets the five tests to be the qualifying child of more than one person, a special rule applies to determine which person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. See Special Rule for Qualifying Child of More Than One Person, later.
To meet this test, a child must be:
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Your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant (for example, your grandchild) of any of them, or
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Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant (for example, your niece or nephew) of any of them.
To meet this test, a child must be:
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Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly),
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A full-time student under age 24 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly), or
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Permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of age.
Example.
Your son turned 19 on December 10. Unless he was permanently and totally disabled or a full-time student, he does not meet the age test because, at the end of the year, he was not under age 19.
Example 1—child not younger than you or spouse.
Your 23-year-old brother, who is a full-time student and unmarried, lives with you and your spouse. He is not disabled. Both you and your spouse are 21 years old, and you file a joint return. Your brother is not your qualifying child because he is not younger than you or your spouse.
Example 2—child younger than your spouse but not younger than you.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that your spouse is 25 years old. Because your brother is younger than your spouse and you and your spouse are filing a joint return, your brother is your qualifying child, even though he is not younger than you.
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A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body at the school, or
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A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in (1), or by a state, county, or local government agency.
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He or she cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition.
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A doctor determines the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can lead to death.
To meet this test, your child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, kidnapped children, and children of divorced or separated parents.
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Illness,
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Education,
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Business,
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Vacation, or
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Military service.
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The child is presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a member of your family or the child's family.
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In the year the kidnapping occurred, the child lived with you for more than half of the part of the year before the date of the kidnapping.
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The year there is a determination that the child is dead, or
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The year the child would have reached age 18.
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The parents:
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Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance,
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Are separated under a written separation agreement, or
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Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were married.
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The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents.
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The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year.
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Either of the following statements is true.
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The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she will not claim the child as a dependent for the year, and the noncustodial parent attaches this written declaration to his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went into effect after 1984 and before 2009, see Post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce decree or separation agreement , later. If the decree or agreement went into effect after 2008, see Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement , later.)
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A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate maintenance or written separation agreement that applies to 2011 states that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or agreement was not changed after 1984 to say the noncustodial parent cannot claim the child as a dependent, and the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for the child's support during the year.
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At that parent's home, whether or not the parent is present, or
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In the company of the parent, when the child does not sleep at a parent's home (for example, the parent and child are on vacation together).
Example 1—child lived with one parent greater number of nights.
You and your child’s other parent are divorced. In 2011, your child lived with you 210 nights and with the other parent 155 nights. You are the custodial parent.
Example 2—child is away at camp.
In 2011, your daughter lives with each parent for alternate weeks. In the summer, she spends 6 weeks at summer camp. During the time she is at camp, she is treated as living with you for 3 weeks and with her other parent, your ex-spouse, for 3 weeks because this is how long she would have lived with each parent if she had not attended summer camp.
Example 3—child lived same number of nights with each parent.
Your son lived with you 180 nights during the year and lived the same number of nights with his other parent, your ex-spouse. Your AGI is $40,000. Your ex-spouse's AGI is $25,000. You are treated as your son's custodial parent because you have the higher AGI.
Example 4—child is at parent’s home but with other parent.
Your son normally lives with you during the week and with his other parent, your ex-spouse, every other weekend. You become ill and are hospitalized. The other parent lives in your home with your son for 10 consecutive days while you are in the hospital. Your son is treated as living with you during this 10-day period because he was living in your home.
Example 5—child emancipated in May.
When your son turned age 18 in May 2011, he became emancipated under the law of the state where he lives. As a result, he is not considered in the custody of his parents for more than half of the year. The special rule for children of divorced or separated parents does not apply.
Example 6—child emancipated in August.
Your daughter lives with you from January 1, 2011, until May 31, 2011, and lives with her other parent, your ex-spouse, from June 1, 2011, through the end of the year. She turns 18 and is emancipated under state law on August 1, 2011. Because she is treated as not living with either parent beginning on August 1, she is treated as living with you the greater number of nights in 2011. You are the custodial parent.
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The noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent without regard to any condition, such as payment of support.
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The custodial parent will not claim the child as a dependent for the year.
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The years for which the noncustodial parent, rather than the custodial parent, can claim the child as a dependent.
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The cover page (write the other parent's social security number on this page).
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The pages that include all of the information identified in items (1) through (3) above.
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The signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the agreement.
To meet this test, the child cannot have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
This test is different from the support test to be a qualifying relative, which is described later. However, to see what is or is not support, see Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Relative) , later. If you are not sure whether a child provided more than half of his or her own support, you may find Worksheet 1 helpful.
Example.
You provided $4,000 toward your 16-year-old son's support for the year. He has a part-time job and provided $6,000 to his own support. He provided more than half of his own support for the year. He is not your qualifying child.
Example 1.
Lauren, a foster child, lived with Mr. and Mrs. Smith for the last 3 months of the year. The Smiths cared for Lauren because they wanted to adopt her (although she had not been placed with them for adoption). They did not care for her as a trade or business or to benefit the agency that placed her in their home. The Smiths' unreimbursed expenses are not deductible as charitable contributions but are considered support they provided for Lauren.
Example 2.
You provided $3,000 toward your 10-year-old foster child's support for the year. The state government provided $4,000, which is considered support provided by the state, not by the child. See Support provided by the state (welfare, food stamps, housing, etc.) , later. Your foster child did not provide more than half of her own support for the year.
To meet this test, the child cannot file a joint return for the year.
Example 1.
You supported your 18-year-old daughter, and she lived with you all year while her husband was in the Armed Forces. The couple files a joint return. Because your daughter and her husband file a joint return, she is not your qualifying child.
Example 2.
Your 18-year-old son and his 17-year-old wife had $800 of wages from part-time jobs and no other income. Neither is required to file a tax return. They do not have a child. Taxes were taken out of their pay so they file a joint return only to get a refund of the withheld taxes. The exception to the joint return test applies, so your son may be your qualifying child if all the other tests are met.
Example 3.
The facts are the same as in Example 2 except your son is 26 years old and had $2,000 of wages. No taxes were taken out of his pay, and he and his wife were not required to file a tax return. However, they file a joint return to claim an earned income credit of $155 and get a refund of that amount. They file the return to get the earned income credit, so they are not filing it only as a claim for refund. The exception to the joint return test does not apply, so your son is not your qualifying child.
If your qualifying child is not a qualifying child of anyone else, this special rule does not apply to you and you do not need to read about it. This is also true if your qualifying child is not a qualifying child of anyone else except your spouse with whom you file a joint return.
If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the rules for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart, described earlier, see Applying this special rule to divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart, later.
Sometimes, a child meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests to be a qualifying child of more than one person. Although the child is a qualifying child of each of these persons, only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child to take all of the following tax benefits (provided the person is eligible for each benefit).
The other person cannot take any of these benefits based on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the other person cannot agree to divide these tax benefits between you. The other person cannot take any of these benefits unless he or she has a different qualifying child.
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If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the parent.
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If the parents do not file a joint return together but both parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year. If the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year.
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If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the year.
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If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the year, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child. If the child's parents file a joint return with each other, this rule can be applied by dividing the parents' combined AGI equally between the parents. See Example 6.
Example 1—child lived with parent and grandparent.
You and your 3-year-old daughter Jane lived with your mother all year. You are 25 years old, unmarried, and your AGI is $9,000. Your mother's AGI is $15,000. Jane's father did not live with you or your daughter. The rule explained earlier for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart does not apply.
Jane is a qualifying child of both you and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only one of you can claim her. Jane is not a qualifying child of anyone else, including her father. You agree to let your mother claim Jane. This means your mother can claim Jane as a qualifying child for all of the six tax benefits listed earlier, if she qualifies (and if you do not claim Jane as a qualifying child for any of those tax benefits).
Example 2—parent has higher AGI than grandparent.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your AGI is $18,000. Because your mother's AGI is not higher than yours, she cannot claim Jane. Only you can claim Jane.
Example 3—two persons claim same child.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you and your mother both claim Jane as a qualifying child. In this case, you as the child's parent will be the only one allowed to claim Jane as a qualifying child. The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the six tax benefits listed earlier unless she has another qualifying child.
Example 4—qualifying children split between two persons.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except you also have two other young children who are qualifying children of both you and your mother. Only one of you can claim each child. However, if your mother's AGI is higher than yours, you can allow your mother to claim one or more of the children. For example, if you claim one child, your mother can claim the other two.
Example 5—taxpayer who is a qualifying child.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except you are only 18 years old and did not provide more than half of your own support for the year. This means you are your mother's qualifying child. If she can claim you as a dependent, then you cannot claim your daughter as a dependent because of the Dependent Taxpayer Test explained earlier.
Example 6—child lived with both parents and grandparent.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you and your daughter's father are married to each other, live with your daughter and your mother, and have AGI of $20,000 on a joint return. If you and your husband do not claim your daughter as a qualifying child, your mother can claim her instead. Even though the AGI on your joint return, $20,000, is more than your mother's AGI of $15,000, for this purpose each parent's AGI can be treated as $10,000, so your mother's $15,000 AGI is treated as higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child.
Example 7—separated parents.
You, your husband, and your 10-year-old son lived together until August 1, 2011, when your husband moved out of the household. In August and September, your son lived with you. For the rest of the year, your son lived with your husband, the boy's father. Your son is a qualifying child of both you and your husband because your son lived with each of you for more than half the year and because he met the relationship, age, support, and joint return tests for both of you. At the end of the year, you and your husband still were not divorced, legally separated, or separated under a written separation agreement, so the rule for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart does not apply.
You and your husband will file separate returns. Your husband agrees to let you treat your son as a qualifying child. This means, if your husband does not claim your son as a qualifying child, you can claim your son as a qualifying child for the dependency exemption, child tax credit, and exclusion for dependent care benefits, if you qualify for each of those tax benefits. However, you cannot claim head of household filing status because you and your husband did not live apart for the last 6 months of the year. As a result, your filing status is married filing separately, so you cannot claim the earned income credit or the credit for child and dependent care expenses.
Example 8—separated parents claim same child.
The facts are the same as in Example 7 except that you and your husband both claim your son as a qualifying child. In this case, only your husband will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because, during 2011, the boy lived with him longer than with you. If you claimed an exemption, the child tax credit, or the exclusion for dependent care benefits for your son, the IRS will disallow your claim to all these tax benefits, unless you have another qualifying child. In addition, because you and your husband did not live apart for the last 6 months of the year, your husband cannot claim head of household filing status. As a result, his filing status is married filing separately, so he cannot claim the earned income credit or the credit for child and dependent care expenses.
Example 9—unmarried parents.
You, your 5-year-old son, and your son's father lived together all year. You and your son's father are not married. Your son is a qualifying child of both you and his father because he meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and his father. Your AGI is $12,000 and your son's father's AGI is $14,000. Your son's father agrees to let you claim the child as a qualifying child. This means you can claim him as a qualifying child for the dependency exemption, child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit for child and dependent care expenses, exclusion for dependent care benefits, and the earned income credit, if you qualify for each of those tax benefits (and if your son's father does not, in fact, claim your son as a qualifying child for any of those tax benefits).
Example 10—unmarried parents claim same child.
The facts are the same as in Example 9 except that you and your son's father both claim your son as a qualifying child. In this case, only your son's father will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because his AGI, $14,000, is more than your AGI, $12,000. If you claimed an exemption, the child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit for child and dependent care expenses, exclusion for dependent care benefits, or the earned income credit for your son, the IRS will disallow your claim to all these tax benefits, unless you have another qualifying child.
Example 11—child did not live with a parent.
You and your 7-year-old niece, your sister's child, lived with your mother all year. You are 25 years old, and your AGI is $9,300. Your mother's AGI is $15,000. Your niece's parents file jointly, have an AGI of less than $9,000, and do not live with you or their child. Your niece is a qualifying child of both you and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only your mother can treat her as a qualifying child. This is because your mother's AGI, $15,000, is more than your AGI, $9,300.
Example 1.
You and your 5-year-old son lived all year with your mother, who paid the entire cost of keeping up the home. Your AGI is $10,000. Your mother's AGI is $25,000. Your son's father did not live with you or your son.
Under the rules explained earlier for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart, your son is treated as the qualifying child of his father, who can claim an exemption and the child tax credit for him. Because of this, you cannot claim an exemption or the child tax credit for your son. However, your son's father cannot claim your son as a qualifying child for head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, or the earned income credit.
You and your mother did not have any child care expenses or dependent care benefits, but the boy is a qualifying child of both you and your mother for head of household filing status and the earned income credit because he meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. (Note: The support test does not apply for the earned income credit.) However, you agree to let your mother claim your son. This means she can claim him for head of household filing status and the earned income credit if she qualifies for each and if you do not claim him as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. (You cannot claim head of household filing status because your mother paid the entire cost of keeping up the home.)
Example 2.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that your AGI is $25,000 and your mother's AGI is $21,000. Your mother cannot claim your son as a qualifying child for any purpose because her AGI is not higher than yours.
Example 3.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you and your mother both claim your son as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. Your mother also claims him as a qualifying child for head of household filing status. You as the child's parent will be the only one allowed to claim your son as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the earned income credit and head of household filing status unless she has another qualifying child.
There are four tests that must be met for a person to be your qualifying relative. The four tests are:
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Not a qualifying child test,
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Member of household or relationship test,
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Gross income test, and
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Support test.
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The child is presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a member of your family or the child's family.
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In the year the kidnapping occurred, the child met the tests to be your qualifying relative for the part of the year before the date of the kidnapping.
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The year there is a determination that the child is dead, or
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The year the child would have reached age 18.
A child is not your qualifying relative if the child is your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
Example 1.
Your 22-year-old daughter, who is a full-time student, lives with you and meets all the tests to be your qualifying child. She is not your qualifying relative.
Example 2.
Your 2-year-old son lives with your parents and meets all the tests to be their qualifying child. He is not your qualifying relative.
Example 3.
Your son lives with you but is not your qualifying child because he is 30 years old and does not meet the age test. He may be your qualifying relative if the gross income test and the support test are met.
Example 4.
Your 13-year-old grandson lived with his mother for 3 months, with his uncle for 4 months, and with you for 5 months during the year. He is not your qualifying child because he does not meet the residency test. He may be your qualifying relative if the gross income test and the support test are met.
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Does not file an income tax return, or
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Files a return only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
Example 1—return not required.
You support an unrelated friend and her 3-year-old child, who lived with you all year in your home. Your friend has no gross income, is not required to file a 2011 tax return, and does not file a 2011 tax return. Both your friend and her child are your qualifying relatives if the member of household or relationship test, gross income test, and support test are met.
Example 2—return filed to claim refund.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your friend had wages of $1,500 during the year and had income tax withheld from her wages. She files a return only to get a refund of the income tax withheld and does not claim the earned income credit or any other tax credits or deductions. Both your friend and her child are your qualifying relatives if the member of household or relationship test, gross income test, and support test are met.
Example 3—earned income credit claimed.
The facts are the same as in Example 2 except your friend had wages of $8,000 during the year and claimed the earned income credit on her return. Your friend's child is the qualifying child of another taxpayer (your friend), so you cannot claim your friend's child as your qualifying relative.
Example.
You provide all the support of your children, ages 6, 8, and 12, who live in Mexico with your mother and have no income. You are single and live in the United States. Your mother is not a U.S. citizen and has no U.S. income, so she is not a “taxpayer.” Your children are not your qualifying children because they do not meet the residency test. Also, they are not the qualifying children of any other taxpayer, so they are your qualifying relatives and you can claim them as dependents if all the tests are met. You may also be able to claim your mother as a dependent if all the tests are met, including the gross income test and the support test.
To meet this test, a person must either:
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Live with you all year as a member of your household, or
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Be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you .
If at any time during the year the person was your spouse, that person cannot be your qualifying relative. However, see Personal Exemptions , earlier.
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Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)
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Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.
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Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
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Your stepfather or stepmother.
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A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
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A son or daughter of your half brother or half sister.
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A brother or sister of your father or mother.
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Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.
Example.
You and your wife began supporting your wife's father, a widower, in 2005. Your wife died in 2010. In spite of your wife's death, your father-in-law continues to meet this test, even if he does not live with you. You can claim him as a dependent if all other tests are met, including the gross income test and support test.
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Illness,
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Education,
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Business,
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Vacation, or
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Military service.
To meet this test, a person's gross income for the year must be less than $3,700.
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Provides special instruction or training designed to alleviate the disability of the individual, and
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Is operated by certain tax-exempt organizations or by a state, a U.S. possession, a political subdivision of a state or possession, the United States, or the District of Columbia.
To meet this test, you generally must provide more than half of a person's total support during the calendar year.
However, if two or more persons provide support, but no one person provides more than half of a person's total support, see Multiple Support Agreement , later.
Example.
Your mother received $2,400 in social security benefits and $300 in interest. She paid $2,000 for lodging and $400 for recreation. She put $300 in a savings account.
Even though your mother received a total of $2,700 ($2,400 + $300), she spent only $2,400 ($2,000 + $400) for her own support. If you spent more than $2,400 for her support and no other support was received, you have provided more than half of her support.
Example.
You are in the Armed Forces. You authorize an allotment for your widowed mother that she uses to support herself and her sister. If the allotment provides more than half of each person's support, you can take an exemption for each of them, if they otherwise qualify, even though you authorize the allotment only for your mother.
Example 1.
You provide $4,000 toward your mother's support during the year. She has earned income of $600, nontaxable social security benefits of $4,800, and tax-exempt interest of $200. She uses all these for her support. You cannot claim an exemption for your mother because the $4,000 you provide is not more than half of her total support of $9,600 ($4,000 + $600 + $4,800 + $200).
To figure if you provided more than half of a person's support, you must first determine the total support provided for that person. Total support includes amounts spent to provide food, lodging, clothing, education, medical and dental care, recreation, transportation, and similar necessities.
Generally, the amount of an item of support is the amount of the expense incurred in providing that item. For lodging, the amount of support is the fair rental value of the lodging.
Expenses that are not directly related to any one member of a household, such as the cost of food for the household, must be divided among the members of the household.
Example 1.
Grace Brown, mother of Mary Miller, lives with Frank and Mary Miller and their two children. Grace gets social security benefits of $2,400, which she spends for clothing, transportation, and recreation. Grace has no other income. Frank and Mary's total food expense for the household is $5,200. They pay Grace's medical and drug expenses of $1,200. The fair rental value of the lodging provided for Grace is $1,800 a year, based on the cost of similar rooming facilities. Figure Grace's total support as follows:
Fair rental value of lodging | $ 1,800 | |
Clothing, transportation, and recreation | 2,400 | |
Medical expenses | 1,200 | |
Share of food (1/5 of $5,200) | 1,040 | |
Total support | $6,440 |
The support Frank and Mary provide ($1,800 lodging + $1,200 medical expenses + $1,040 food = $4,040) is more than half of Grace's $6,440 total support.
Example 2.
Your parents live with you, your spouse, and your two children in a house you own. The fair rental value of your parents' share of the lodging is $2,000 a year ($1,000 each), which includes furnishings and utilities. Your father receives a nontaxable pension of $4,200, which he spends equally between your mother and himself for items of support such as clothing, transportation, and recreation. Your total food expense for the household is $6,000. Your heat and utility bills amount to $1,200. Your mother has hospital and medical expenses of $600, which you pay during the year. Figure your parents' total support as follows:
Support provided | Father | Mother |
Fair rental value of lodging | $1,000 | $1,000 |
Pension spent for their support | 2,100 | 2,100 |
Share of food (1/6 of $6,000) | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Medical expenses for mother | 600 | |
Parents' total support | $4,100 | $4,700 |
You must apply the support test separately to each parent. You provide $2,000 ($1,000 lodging + $1,000 food) of your father's total support of $4,100 — less than half. You provide $2,600 to your mother ($1,000 lodging + $1,000 food + $600 medical) — more than half of her total support of $4,700. You meet the support test for your mother, but not your father. Heat and utility costs are included in the fair rental value of the lodging, so these are not considered separately.
Example.
Your parents live rent free in a house you own. It has a fair rental value of $5,400 a year furnished, which includes a fair rental value of $3,600 for the house and $1,800 for the furniture. This does not include heat and utilities. The house is completely furnished with furniture belonging to your parents. You pay $600 for their utility bills. Utilities are not usually included in rent for houses in the area where your parents live. Therefore, you consider the total fair rental value of the lodging to be $6,000 ($3,600 fair rental value of the unfurnished house + $1,800 allowance for the furnishings provided by your parents + $600 cost of utilities) of which you are considered to provide $4,200 ($3,600 + $600).
Example 1.
You buy a $200 power lawn mower for your 13-year-old child. The child is given the duty of keeping the lawn trimmed. Because the lawn mower benefits all members of the household, you cannot include the cost of the lawn mower in the support of your child.
Example 2.
You buy a $150 television set as a birthday present for your 12-year-old child. The television set is placed in your child's bedroom. You can include the cost of the television set in the support of your child.
Example 3.
You pay $5,000 for a car and register it in your name. You and your 17-year-old daughter use the car equally. Because you own the car and do not give it to your daughter but merely let her use it, you cannot include the cost of the car in your daughter's total support. However, you can include in your daughter's support your out-of-pocket expenses of operating the car for her benefit.
Example 4.
Your 17-year-old son, using personal funds, buys a car for $4,500. You provide all the rest of your son's support — $4,000. Since the car is bought and owned by your son, the car's fair market value ($4,500) must be included in his support. Your son has provided more than half of his own total support of $8,500 ($4,500 + $4,000), so he is not your qualifying child. You did not provide more than half of his total support, so he is not your qualifying relative. You cannot claim an exemption for your son.
Example.
During the year, your son receives $2,200 from the government under the GI Bill. He uses this amount for his education. You provide the rest of his support — $2,000. Because GI benefits are included in total support, your son's total support is $4,200 ($2,200 + $2,000). You have not provided more than half of his support.
The following items are not included in total support.
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Federal, state, and local income taxes paid by persons from their own income.
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Social security and Medicare taxes paid by persons from their own income.
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Life insurance premiums.
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Funeral expenses.
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Scholarships received by your child if your child is a full-time student.
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Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance payments used for the support of the child who receives them.
Sometimes no one provides more than half of the support of a person. Instead, two or more persons, each of whom would be able to take the exemption but for the support test, together provide more than half of the person's support.
When this happens, you can agree that any one of you who individually provides more than 10% of the person's support, but only one, can claim an exemption for that person as a qualifying relative. Each of the others must sign a statement agreeing not to claim the exemption for that year. The person who claims the exemption must keep these signed statements for his or her records. A multiple support declaration identifying each of the others who agreed not to claim the exemption must be attached to the return of the person claiming the exemption. Form 2120, Multiple Support Declaration, can be used for this purpose.
You can claim an exemption under a multiple support agreement for someone related to you or for someone who lived with you all year as a member of your household.
Example 1.
You, your sister, and your two brothers provide the entire support of your mother for the year. You provide 45%, your sister 35%, and your two brothers each provide 10%. Either you or your sister can claim an exemption for your mother. The other must sign a statement agreeing not to take an exemption for your mother. The one who claims the exemption must attach Form 2120, or a similar declaration, to his or her return and must keep the statement signed by the other for his or her records. Because neither brother provides more than 10% of the support, neither can take the exemption and neither has to sign a statement.
Example 2.
You and your brother each provide 20% of your mother's support for the year. The remaining 60% of her support is provided equally by two persons who are not related to her. She does not live with them. Because more than half of her support is provided by persons who cannot claim an exemption for her, no one can take the exemption.
Example 3.
Your father lives with you and receives 25% of his support from social security, 40% from you, 24% from his brother (your uncle), and 11% from a friend. Either you or your uncle can take the exemption for your father if the other signs a statement agreeing not to. The one who takes the exemption must attach Form 2120, or a similar declaration, to his return and must keep for his records the signed statement from the one agreeing not to take the exemption.
In most cases, a child of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart will be a qualifying child of one of the parents. See Children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart under Qualifying Child, earlier. However, if the child does not meet the requirements to be a qualifying child of either parent, the child may be a qualifying relative of one of the parents. In that case, the following rules must be used in applying the support test.
A child will be treated as being the qualifying relative of his or her noncustodial parent if all four of the following statements are true.
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The parents:
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Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance,
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Are separated under a written separation agreement, or
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Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were married.
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The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents (and the rules on multiple support agreements, explained earlier, do not apply).
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The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year.
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Either of the following statements is true.
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The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she will not claim the child as a dependent for the year, and the noncustodial parent attaches this written declaration to his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went into effect after 1984 and before 2009, see Post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce decree or separation agreement , later. If the decree or agreement went into effect after 2008, see Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement , later.)
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A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate maintenance or written separation agreement that applies to 2011 states that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or agreement was not changed after 1984 to say the noncustodial parent cannot claim the child as a dependent, and the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for the child's support during the year.
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At that parent's home, whether or not the parent is present, or
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In the company of the parent, when the child does not sleep at a parent's home (for example, the parent and child are on vacation together).
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The noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent without regard to any condition, such as payment of support.
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The custodial parent will not claim the child as a dependent for the year.
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The years for which the noncustodial parent, rather than the custodial parent, can claim the child as a dependent.
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The cover page (write the other parent's social security number on this page).
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The pages that include all of the information identified in items (1) through (3) above.
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The signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the agreement.
Funds Belonging to the Person You Supported | ||||||||||
1. | Enter the total funds belonging to the person you supported, including income received (taxable and nontaxable) and amounts borrowed during the year, plus the amount in savings and other accounts at the beginning of the year. Do not include funds provided by the state; include those amounts on line 23 instead | 1. | ||||||||
2. | Enter the amount on line 1 that was used for the person's support | 2. | ||||||||
3. | Enter the amount on line 1 that was used for other purposes | 3. | ||||||||
4. | Enter the total amount in the person's savings and other accounts at the end of the year | 4. | ||||||||
5. | Add lines 2 through 4. (This amount should equal line 1.) | 5. | ||||||||
Expenses for Entire Household (where the person you supported lived) | ||||||||||
6. | Lodging (complete line 6a or 6b): | |||||||||
a. Enter the total rent paid | 6a. | |||||||||
b. Enter the fair rental value of the home. If the person you supported owned the home, also include this amount in line 21 |
6b. | |||||||||
7. | Enter the total food expenses | 7. | ||||||||
8. | Enter the total amount of utilities (heat, light, water, etc. not included in line 6a or 6b) | 8. | ||||||||
9. | Enter the total amount of repairs (not included in line 6a or 6b) | 9. | ||||||||
10. | Enter the total of other expenses. Do not include expenses of maintaining the home, such as mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and insurance | 10. | ||||||||
11. | Add lines 6a through 10. These are the total household expenses | 11. | ||||||||
12. | Enter total number of persons who lived in the household | 12. | ||||||||
Expenses for the Person You Supported | ||||||||||
13. | Divide line 11 by line 12. This is the person's share of the household expenses | 13. | ||||||||
14. | Enter the person's total clothing expenses | 14. | ||||||||
15. | Enter the person's total education expenses | 15. | ||||||||
16. | Enter the person's total medical and dental expenses not paid for or reimbursed by insurance | 16. | ||||||||
17. | Enter the person's total travel and recreation expenses | 17. | ||||||||
18. | Enter the total of the person's other expenses | 18. | ||||||||
19. | Add lines 13 through 18. This is the total cost of the person's support for the year | 19. | ||||||||
Did the Person Provide More Than Half of His or Her Own Support? | ||||||||||
20. | Multiply line 19 by 50% (.50) | 20. | ||||||||
21. | Enter the amount from line 2, plus the amount from line 6b if the person you supported owned the home. This is the amount the person provided for his or her own support |
21. | ||||||||
22. | Is line 21 more than line 20? No. You meet the support test for this person to be your qualifying child. If this person also meets the other tests to be a qualifying child, stop here; do not complete lines 23–26. Otherwise, go to line 23 and fill out the rest of the worksheet to determine if this person is your qualifying relative. Yes. You do not meet the support test for this person to be either your qualifying child or your qualifying relative. Stop here. |
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Did You Provide More Than Half? | ||||||||||
23. | Enter the amount others provided for the person's support. Include amounts provided by state, local, and other welfare societies or agencies. Do not include any amounts included on line 1 | 23. | ||||||||
24. | Add lines 21 and 23 | 24. | ||||||||
25. | Subtract line 24 from line 19. This is the amount you provided for the person's support | 25. | ||||||||
26. | Is line 25 more than line 20? Yes. You meet the support test for this person to be your qualifying relative. No. You do not meet the support test for this person to be your qualifying relative. You cannot claim an exemption for this person unless you can do so under a multiple support agreement, the support test for children of divorced or separated parents, or the special rule for kidnapped children. See Multiple Support Agreement , Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents or Parents Who Live Apart , or Kidnapped child under Qualifying Relative. |
You must show the social security number (SSN) of any dependent for whom you claim an exemption in column (2) of line 6c of your Form 1040 or Form 1040A.
If you do not show the dependent's SSN when required or if you show an incorrect SSN, the exemption may be disallowed.
Most taxpayers have a choice of either taking a standard deduction or itemizing their deductions. If you have a choice, you can use the method that gives you the lower tax.
The standard deduction is a dollar amount that reduces your taxable income. It is a benefit that eliminates the need for many taxpayers to itemize actual deductions, such as medical expenses, charitable contributions, and taxes, on Schedule A (Form 1040). The standard deduction is higher for taxpayers who:
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Are 65 or older, or
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Are blind.
You benefit from the standard deduction if your standard deduction is more than the total of your allowable itemized deductions.
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Your filing status is married filing separately, and your spouse itemizes deductions on his or her return,
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You are filing a tax return for a short tax year because of a change in your annual accounting period, or
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You are a nonresident or dual-status alien during the year. You are considered a dual-status alien if you were both a nonresident and resident alien during the year.
If you are a nonresident alien who is married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of the year, you can choose to be treated as a U.S. resident. (See Publication 519.) If you make this choice, you can take the standard deduction.
If an exemption for you can be claimed on another person's return (such as your parents' return), your standard deduction may be limited. See Standard Deduction for Dependents, later.
The standard deduction amount depends on your filing status, whether you are 65 or older or blind, and whether an exemption can be claimed for you by another taxpayer. Generally, the standard deduction amounts are adjusted each year for inflation. The standard deduction amounts for most people are shown in Table 6.
If you do not itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction if you are age 65 or older at the end of the year. You are considered 65 on the day before your 65th birthday.
Therefore, you can take a higher standard deduction for 2011 if you were born before January 2, 1947.
Use Table 7 to figure the standard deduction amount.
If you are blind on the last day of the year and you do not itemize deductions, you are entitled to a higher standard deduction.
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You cannot see better than 20/200 in the better eye with glasses or contact lenses, or
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Your field of vision is 20 degrees or less.
You can take the higher standard deduction if your spouse is age 65 or older or blind and:
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You file a joint return, or
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You file a separate return and can claim an exemption for your spouse because your spouse had no gross income and an exemption for your spouse could not be claimed by another taxpayer.
You cannot claim the higher standard deduction for an individual other than yourself and your spouse.
The following examples illustrate how to determine your standard deduction using Tables 6 and 7.
Example 1.
Larry, 46, and Donna, 33, are filing a joint return for 2011. Neither is blind, and neither can be claimed as a dependent. They decide not to itemize their deductions. They use Table 6. Their standard deduction is $11,600.
Example 2.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 , except that Larry is blind at the end of 2011. Larry and Donna use Table 7. Their standard deduction is $12,750.
Example 3.
Bill and Lisa are filing a joint return for 2011. Both are over age 65. Neither is blind, and neither can be claimed as a dependent. If they do not itemize deductions, they use Table 7. Their standard deduction is $13,900.
The standard deduction for an individual who can be claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return is generally limited to the greater of:
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$950, or
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The individual's earned income for the year plus $300 (but not more than the regular standard deduction amount, generally $5,800).
However, if the individual is 65 or older or blind, the standard deduction may be higher.
If you (or your spouse if filing jointly) can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return, use Table 8 to determine your standard deduction.
Example 1.
Michael is single. His parents can claim an exemption for him on their 2011 tax return. He has interest income of $780 and wages of $150. He has no itemized deductions. Michael uses Table 8 to find his standard deduction. He enters $150 (his earned income) on line 1, $450 ($150 + $300) on line 3, $950 (the larger of $450 and $950) on line 5, and $5,800 on line 6. The amount of his standard deduction, on line 7a, is $950 (the smaller of $950 and $5,800).
Example 2.
Joe, a 22-year-old full-time college student, can be claimed as a dependent on his parents' 2011 tax return. Joe is married and files a separate return. His wife does not itemize deductions on her separate return. Joe has $1,500 in interest income and wages of $3,800. He has no itemized deductions. Joe finds his standard deduction by using Table 8. He enters his earned income, $3,800, on line 1. He adds lines 1 and 2 and enters $4,100 on line 3. On line 5, he enters $4,100, the larger of lines 3 and 4. Because Joe is married filing a separate return, he enters $5,800 on line 6. On line 7a he enters $4,100 as his standard deduction because it is smaller than $5,800, the amount on line 6.
Example 3.
Amy, who is single, can be claimed as a dependent on her parents' 2011 tax return. She is 18 years old and blind. She has interest income of $1,300 and wages of $2,900. She has no itemized deductions. Amy uses Table 8 to find her standard deduction. She enters her wages of $2,900 on line 1. She adds lines 1 and 2 and enters $3,200 on line 3. On line 5, she enters $3,200, the larger of lines 3 and 4. Because she is single, Amy enters $5,800 on line 6. She enters $3,200 on line 7a. This is the smaller of the amounts on lines 5 and 6. Because she checked one box in the top part of the worksheet, she enters $1,450 on line 7b. She then adds the amounts on lines 7a and 7b and enters her standard deduction of $4,650 on line 7c.
Example 4.
Ed is single. His parents can claim an exemption for him on their 2011 tax return. He has wages of $6,841, interest income of $504, and a business loss of $3,115. He has no itemized deductions. Ed uses Table 8 to figure his standard deduction. He enters $3,726 ($6,841 - $3,115) on line 1. He adds lines 1 and 2 and enters $4,026 on line 3. On line 5, he enters $4,026, the larger of lines 3 and 4. Because he is single, Ed enters $5,800 on line 6. On line 7a he enters $4,026 as his standard deduction because it is smaller than $5,800, the amount on line 6.
You should itemize deductions if your total deductions are more than the standard deduction amount. Also, you should itemize if you do not qualify for the standard deduction, as discussed earlier under Persons not eligible for the standard deduction .
You should first figure your itemized deductions and compare that amount to your standard deduction to make sure you are using the method that gives you the greater benefit.
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Do not qualify for the standard deduction, or the amount you can claim is limited,
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Had large uninsured medical and dental expenses during the year,
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Paid interest and taxes on your home,
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Had large unreimbursed employee business expenses or other miscellaneous deductions,
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Had large uninsured casualty or theft losses,
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Made large contributions to qualified charities, or
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Have total itemized deductions that are more than the standard deduction to which you otherwise are entitled.
Table 6. Standard Deduction Chart for Most People*
If your filing status is... | Your standard deduction is: |
Single or Married filing separately | $5,800 |
Married filing jointly or Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child |
11,600 |
Head of household | 8,500 |
*Do not use this chart if you were born before January 2, 1947, or are blind, or if someone else can claim you (or your spouse if filing jointly) as a dependent. Use Table 7 or 8 instead. |
Table 7. Standard Deduction Chart for People Born Before January 2, 1947, or Who are Blind*
Check the correct number of boxes below. Then go to the chart. | |||
You: | Born before January 2, 1947□ |
Blind □ | |
Your spouse, if claiming spouse's exemption: |
Born before January 2, 1947 □ |
Blind □ | |
Total number of boxes you checked | |||
IF your filing status is... |
AND the number in the box above is... |
THEN your standard deduction is... |
|
Single | 1 | $7,250 | |
2 | 8,700 | ||
Married filing jointly | 1 | $12,750 | |
or Qualifying | 2 | 13,900 | |
widow(er) with | 3 | 15,050 | |
dependent child | 4 | 16,200 | |
Married filing | 1 | $6,950 | |
separately | 2 | 8,100 | |
3 | 9,250 | ||
4 | 10,400 | ||
Head of household | 1 | $9,950 | |
2 | 11,400 | ||
*If someone else can claim you (or your spouse if filing jointly) as a dependent, use Table 8, instead. |
Table 8. Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents
Use this worksheet only if someone else can claim you (or your spouse if filing jointly) as a dependent.
|
Check the correct number of boxes below. Then go to the worksheet. | |||||
You: | Born before January 2, 1947 □ |
Blind □ | |||
Your spouse, if claiming spouse's exemption: |
Born before January 2, 1947 □ |
Blind □ | |||
Total number of boxes you checked | |||||
1. | Enter your earned income (defined below). If none, enter -0-. | 1. | |||
2. | Additional amount. | 2. | $300 | ||
3. | Add lines 1 and 2. | 3. | |||
4. | Minimum standard deduction. | 4. | $950 | ||
5. | Enter the larger of line 3 or line 4. | 5. | |||
6. | Enter the amount shown below for your filing status.
|
6. | |||
7. | Standard deduction. | ||||
a. | Enter the smaller of line 5 or line 6. If born after January 1, 1947, and not blind, stop here. This is your standard deduction. Otherwise, go on to line 7b. | 7a. | |||
b. | If born before January 2, 1947, or blind, multiply $1,450 ($1,150 if married) by the number in the box above. | 7b. | |||
c. | Add lines 7a and 7b. This is your standard deduction for 2011. | 7c. | |||
Earned incomeincludes wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, and other compensation received for personal services you performed. It also includes any amount received as a scholarship that you must include in your income. |
You can get help with unresolved tax issues, order free publications and forms, ask tax questions, and get information from the IRS in several ways. By selecting the method that is best for you, you will have quick and easy access to tax help.
www.aarp.org/money/taxaide. For more information on these programs, go to IRS.gov and enter keyword “VITA” in the upper right-hand corner.
Internet. You can access the IRS website at IRS.gov 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to:
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Check the status of your 2011 refund. Go to IRS.gov and click on Where's My Refund. Wait at least 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return, or 3 to 4 weeks after mailing a paper return. If you filed Form 8379 with your return, wait 14 weeks (11 weeks if you filed electronically). Have your 2011 tax return available so you can provide your social security number, your filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund.
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E-file your return. Find out about commercial tax preparation and e-file services available free to eligible taxpayers.
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Download forms, including talking tax forms, instructions, and publications.
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Order IRS products online.
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Research your tax questions online.
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Search publications online by topic or keyword.
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Use the online Internal Revenue Code, regulations, or other official guidance.
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View Internal Revenue Bulletins (IRBs) published in the last few years.
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Figure your withholding allowances using the withholding calculator online at www.irs.gov/individuals.
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Determine if Form 6251 must be filed by using our Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Assistant available online at www.irs.gov/individuals.
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Sign up to receive local and national tax news by email.
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Get information on starting and operating a small business.
Phone. Many services are available by phone.
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Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) to order current-year forms, instructions, and publications, and prior-year forms and instructions. You should receive your order within 10 days.
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Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with your tax questions at 1-800-829-1040.
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Solving problems. You can get face-to-face help solving tax problems every business day in IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers. An employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your account, or help you set up a payment plan. Call your local Taxpayer Assistance Center for an appointment. To find the number, go to www.irs.gov/localcontacts or look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.
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TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access to TTY/TDD equipment, call 1-800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications.
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TeleTax topics. Call 1-800-829-4477 to listen to pre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.
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Refund information. You can check the status of your refund on the new IRS phone app. Download the free IRS2Go app by visiting the iTunes app store or the Android Marketplace. IRS2Go is a new way to provide you with information and tools. To check the status of your refund by phone, call 1-800-829-4477 (automated refund information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). Wait at least 72 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return, or 3 to 4 weeks after mailing a paper return. If you filed Form 8379 with your return, wait 14 weeks (11 weeks if you filed electronically). Have your 2011 tax return available so you can provide your social security number, your filing status, and the exact whole dollar amount of your refund. If you check the status of your refund and are not given the date it will be issued, please wait until the next week before checking back.
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Other refund information. To check the status of a prior-year refund or amended return refund, call 1-800-829-1040.
Evaluating the quality of our telephone services. To ensure IRS representatives give accurate, courteous, and professional answers, we use several methods to evaluate the quality of our telephone services. One method is for a second IRS representative to listen in on or record random telephone calls. Another is to ask some callers to complete a short survey at the end of the call.
Walk-in. Many products and services are available on a walk-in basis.
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Products. You can walk in to many post offices, libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certain forms, instructions, and publications. Some IRS offices, libraries, grocery stores, copy centers, city and county government offices, credit unions, and office supply stores have a collection of products available to print from a CD or photocopy from reproducible proofs. Also, some IRS offices and libraries have the Internal Revenue Code, regulations, Internal Revenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins available for research purposes.
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Services. You can walk in to your local Taxpayer Assistance Center every business day for personal, face-to-face tax help. An employee can explain IRS letters, request adjustments to your tax account, or help you set up a payment plan. If you need to resolve a tax problem, have questions about how the tax law applies to your individual tax return, or you are more comfortable talking with someone in person, visit your local Taxpayer Assistance Center where you can spread out your records and talk with an IRS representative face-to-face. No appointment is necessary—just walk in. If you prefer, you can call your local Center and leave a message requesting an appointment to resolve a tax account issue. A representative will call you back within 2 business days to schedule an in-person appointment at your convenience. If you have an ongoing, complex tax account problem or a special need, such as a disability, an appointment can be requested. All other issues will be handled without an appointment. To find the number of your local office, go to
www.irs.gov/localcontacts or look in the phone book under United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.
Mail. You can send your order for forms, instructions, and publications to the address below. You should receive a response within 10 days after your request is received.
Internal Revenue Service
1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway
Bloomington, IL 61705-6613
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Your problem is causing financial difficulties for you, your family, or your business.
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You face (or your business is facing) an immediate threat of adverse action.
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You have tried repeatedly to contact the IRS but no one has responded, or the IRS has not responded to you by the date promised.
DVD for tax products. You can order Publication 1796, IRS Tax Products DVD, and obtain:
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Current-year forms, instructions, and publications.
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Prior-year forms, instructions, and publications.
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Tax Map: an electronic research tool and finding aid.
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Tax law frequently asked questions.
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Tax Topics from the IRS telephone response system.
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Internal Revenue Code—Title 26 of the U.S. Code.
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Links to other Internet based Tax Research Materials.
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Fill-in, print, and save features for most tax forms.
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Internal Revenue Bulletins.
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Toll-free and email technical support.
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Two releases during the year.
– The first release will ship the beginning of January 2012.
– The final release will ship the beginning of March 2012.
Purchase the DVD from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at www.irs.gov/cdorders for $30 (no handling fee) or call 1-877-233-6767 toll free to buy the DVD for $30 (plus a $6 handling fee).
More Online Publications |