Question about the new credit for other dependents

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
December 7, 2019
21 replies
67 views

I have a client that on previous years had claimed his father as his dependent. His father lives in Mexico, he doesn't have a SSN he has an ITIN. He doesn't have any income and doesn't receive a pension. He is the only one support him and he does support him more than 50%.

Does he qualifies for this new credit for other dependent? Otherwise with the removal of the exemptions I do not see any benefit to claim him anymore.

Thank you.

ProSeries Professional

This topic has been closed for replies.

Best answer by TaxGuyBill

No, the dependent needs to be a citizen or resident of the US to qualify for the $500 credit.

However, claiming the dependent may still have benefits. A few of the possibilities are (1) could qualify for Head of Household, (2) medical expenses would be deductible, (3) household size would be increased for the Premium Tax Credit, and (4) there may be State benefits. There are likely other things as well (I think there is at least one other thing that I am forgetting).

T

TaxGuyBillAnswer

No, the dependent needs to be a citizen or resident of the US to qualify for the $500 credit.

However, claiming the dependent may still have benefits. A few of the possibilities are (1) could qualify for Head of Household, (2) medical expenses would be deductible, (3) household size would be increased for the Premium Tax Credit, and (4) there may be State benefits. There are likely other things as well (I think there is at least one other thing that I am forgetting).

G

GildardoAuthor

Level 4

Big change. Thank you for your very complete answer. What will happen if the father lived with him the whole year? Will that qualify him as resident or he needs to be an actual card holder?

I

info4

Level 2

Conclusively the answer is No.

The only thing I would modify to the prior answer is the portion "resident" includes Canada and Mexico. There is no physical presence in the U.S. to qualify for the credit but the ODC follows the CTC residency requirement rules which require that the taxpayer lived with the dependent all year in the United States which includes any country that is contiguous (Mexico and Canada). Therefore, if your dependent lived with the relative in Mexico and such dependent is a U.S. citizen or meets the green card test, possesses a valid social security card by the time the due date of the return, the person would qualify for the ODC. But I agree with the rest of the answer and also add that certain states have not modified the exemption rules and thus could find a larger return. I would not scratch them out from their individual return if they meet the dependent rules.

Previous answer: No, the dependent needs to be a citizen or resident of the US to qualify for the $500 credit.

However, claiming the dependent may still have benefits. A few of the possibilities are (1) could qualify for Head of Household, (2) medical expenses would be deductible, (3) household size would be increased for the Premium Tax Credit, and (4) there may be State benefits. There are likely other things as well (I think there is at least one other thing that I am forgetting).

T

TaxGuyBill

No, the $500 credit is only if your are a Resident (or Citizen) of the US. Although Residents of Canada and Mexico qualify to be a dependent, they do NOT qualify for the $500 credit.

Also, there is NOT a requirement for the dependent to live with you for 6 months.

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