Can an Elderly Disabled Parent Be Claimed as a Dependent on Your IRS Refund?

Include the cost of outings or vacations for your parent when determining support.

Each dependent you claim lowers your taxable income. For 2010, every dependent, or exemption, resulted in a $3,650 reduction. However, the Internal Revenue Service has specific guidelines regarding whom you can claim as a dependent. If you have an elderly or disabled parent, you may be able to claim the exemption, but you must make sure you and your parent meet all of the qualifications.

Relationship

You may claim your natural parents or stepparents but not your foster parents. You may claim your mother-in-law or father-in-law, even if you are divorced or your spouse is deceased; the IRS considers a relationship established by marriage to continue in perpetuity.

Residency

Your parent does not have to live with you to be eligible. However, he must be a resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico or a U.S. national, resident alien or citizen living abroad.

Gross Income

Your parent cannot have a gross income of more than $3,650 for the tax year. The IRS considers gross income as all money your parent receives that is taxable income. This includes taxable retirement or disability benefits, cash wages and passive income from investments. Do not include nontaxable income. If your parent earns money at a qualified "sheltered workshop," you can exclude that income for purposes of meeting the gross income test.

Support

You must provide more than 50 percent of your parent's total support payments for the year. Support includes payments for housing, food, medical care, transportation, clothing and recreation. You may not include premiums for life insurance or funeral expenses. If you and another person contributed toward your parent's support, but neither paid more than half, you may enter into a multiple support agreement with the other party that allows you to take the exemption. You do not have to count as support any money your parent received but did not spend on his own support. To illustrate, if your parent received $3,500 in Social Security, spent $3,000 on her own support and saved $500, you need to provide more than $3,000 in support.

Miscellaneous Requirements

You must provide your parent's Social Security number when you file your return. If she does not have a Social Security number and cannot obtain one, she should apply with the IRS for an individual taxpayer's identification number, or ITIN, which you may use instead. If your parent is married, she cannot file a joint return with her spouse except to claim a refund for withheld income tax. The IRS does not permit you to claim dependents if anyone else is eligible to claim you or -- if you file a joint return -- your spouse as a dependent.

References

• Internal Revenue Service; Six Important Facts about Dependents and Exemptions; January 2011
• Internal Revenue Service: Publication 501 (2010), Exemptions, Standard Deductions and Filing Information