Who Really Qualifies as a Dependent for Taxes?
How many dependents do you really have? Who can really be counted as a dependent? These are some of the most common questions that all taxpayers have. Can you count all of your children, live-in help, or perhaps a dog or other family pet? What about a friend who decides to crash at your place and basically mooch off you the entire year; can he or she be counted as a dependent?
As far as the IRS is concerned, there are two different kinds of dependents but there are dozens of scenarios that can fall under these two categories. There are also different rules for each type. The first type of dependent is classified as a qualifying child. The second type is a qualifying relative.
A qualifying child must be related to you, either by birth or adoption, or be a step or foster child. You must also provide more than half of the child’s total financial support and you can be the only person claiming that child on your return. To be a dependent the child must also be 18-years-old or younger, or if he or she is a full-time student, younger than 24-years-old.
The rules for being counted as a qualifying relative are much different. First, if your relative is a blood relative then he or she does not have to live with you in order to be counted. However, he or she must not provide more than half of his or her own support and that person cannot make more than $4000.
For a person who is not a blood relative to qualify as a dependent – like a lifelong friend who is down on his/her luck, or just plain lazy, or even your significant other – that person must live with you the entire year and their income must be less than $4,000 for the entire year. No one else can claim the person and you have to provide more than half of his or her financial support.
Identify Your Firm’s Future Leaders
Identify your firm’s future leaders; leaders are increasingly being asked to identify the emerging leaders in their organizations. To help in this process, we recently examined 360-degree performance appraisal data on more than 120 emerging leaders from 18 North American companies to see what leadership competencies ranked as important in selecting internal associates for…
Key Elements to Successful Teamwork
Key Elements to Successful Teamwork At our recent leadership retreat our team focused on two topics: Trust and accountability. After reading several books and having lively discussions for two days it became clear that a firm must have trust in order to hold people accountable. This is not a new or difficult concept; however, becoming…
The Perfect Leadership Trio
The Perfect Leadership Trio Chip Conley, author of ” The Rebel Rules: Daring to be Yourself in Business, says your management team should consist of a brain trust that includes a “passionate visionary,” a “get-your-hands-dirty operator,” and a “responsible, finance-minded executive.” But how do you use this in your business? 1. Passionate visionary. The passionate…
Attorneys for the Rich Anxiously Await Trump’s Plan for Estate Tax
Chances are most people will never have to worry about paying a federal estate tax, since the value of most people’s estates don’t exceed $5.34 million. However, if president Trump has his way, not even the very few taxpayers that would have otherwise been affected by this law, will have to worry about it…