Can I claim someone as a dependent who’s never lived with me?

Yes. The person doesn’t have to live with you in order to qualify as your dependent on taxes. However, the person must be a relative who meets one of the following relationship test requirements:

• Your child, grandchild, or great-grandchild
• Your legally adopted dependent
• Your stepchild, stepbrother, or stepsister
• Your brother, sister, half brother, or half sister
• Your parent or other direct ancestor, but not a foster parent
• Your stepfather or stepmother
• Your parent’s brother or sister
• Your brother’s or sister’s child
• Your mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law

There are additional rules for the person to qualify as your dependent. To qualify as one of your dependents, all of these must be true:

• The person must not be the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
• The person must have gross income less than $4,300 for the year.
• You must provide more than half of the person’s total support for the year. The person must be one of these:
  • U.S. citizen
  • U.S. national
  • Resident of the United States, Canada, or Mexico
• The person must not file a joint return unless he or she is only filing to claim a refund of estimated taxes or income taxes withheld. Also, there would be no tax liability for either the person or the person’s spouse if filing separate returns.