My brother is totally disabled and lives with me. He receives monthly Social Security disability income. I provide his housing, food, clothing, transportation, and other expenses. He gives me money each month for these services. Is he considered a Disabled Dependent and can I claim Disabled Dependent Deduction?

To claim your brother as a dependent relative using the Qualifying Child designation, he must not have provided more than half of his own support for the year.

First, figure the amount of his total support for the year. This is what both you and he contributed to his support. His contribution includes the Social Security benefits he uses toward his support. (Ex: If he saves half of his benefits, that amount isn’t included in his support.)

Then, figure how much he alone contributed to his own support.

Support includes what you and he spent to provide:

• Food — Divide the total cost among the members of the household.
• Lodging — Use the fair rental value, which is the amount you could expect to charge a stranger for the same lodging.
• Clothing — Use the actual amounts spent.
• Education — Use the actual amounts spent.
• Medical and dental care — Use the actual amounts spent.
• Recreation — Use the actual amounts spent.
• Transportation — Use the actual expenses to transport the dependent. The expenses will be the appropriate portion spent on gas and vehicle maintenance.
• Utilities — Divide the total cost among the members of the household.
• Similar necessities

You can use the IRS Worksheet for Determining Support to determine who supported your brother. It’s located in Publication 501 (Worksheet 2) or Publication 17 (Worksheet 3-1) on www.irs.gov.

If your brother provided more than half of his own support for the year, you can’t claim him as a dependent.