What’s new with dependents this year

What’s new with dependents this year 

There were some changes to the tax laws and the dependent deduction is no longer available this year. 

Instead, there are new tax credits for people with qualifying dependents.   

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Who counts as a dependent? 

A qualifying child that meets all six of the following conditions: 

• Relationship: The person is your child, foster child, adopted child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, grandchild, niece, or nephew). 

• Residence: The person lives in your home for more than half the year. If he or she is temporarily absent, that still counts as time living in your home. A temporary absence could be time spent at college or boarding school, or time away for medical care, military service, or juvenile detention. Different guidelines apply for children of divorced or separated parents. 

• Age: The person is age 18 or under at the end of 2020, or a full-time student age 23 or under. If the person is disabled, there is no age limit. 

• Support: The person doesn’t provide more than half of his or her own support. 

• Nationality: The person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. An adopted child who doesn’t meet this requirement but lives with you for the entire year can be your dependent if you’re a U.S. citizen. 

• Marital status: Generally, a married dependent can’t file a joint tax return with a spouse. The only exception is when the married dependent files a joint return only to get a refund of taxes paid (no tax credits are received) and, if separate returns are filed, neither the dependent nor spouse would have a tax liability. 

Qualifying Relative Dependents 

A qualifying relative that meets all five of the following conditions: 

• Relationship: The person lives in your home for the entire year and is a member of your household or is related to you. 

• Gross income: Generally, their income is less than $4,300 (not including Social Security or welfare). 

• Support: Generally, you provide more than half the person’s support. Special rules apply for children of divorced or separated parents or children receiving support from two or more people. 

• Marital status: Generally, a married dependent can’t file a joint tax return with a spouse. The only exception is when the married dependent files a joint return only to get a refund for taxes paid. If both spouses filed separate returns, neither the dependent nor spouse would have a tax liability. 

• Nationality: The person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. An adopted child who doesn’t meet this requirement but lives with you for the entire year can be your dependent if you’re a U.S. citizen. 

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