Dependant On The Federal Tax Form?
Q: Federal income tax what is a dependant? Who can be a considered a dependant on the federal tax form? Is there a URL that explains it all? Also even if someone qualifies for that status and the person that is their provider does not use them on their tax form as a dependent does that mean that that dependant cannot take the standard deduction?
A: Question: Federal income tax what is a dependant? Who can be a considered a dependant on the federal tax form? Is there a URL that explains it all? Answer: Try this: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e3270 Question: Also even if someone qualifies for that status and the person that is their provider does not use them on their tax form as a dependent does that mean that that dependant cannot take the standard deduction? Answer: You can't just pick and chose which dependents to claim on a whim. If they qualify as your dependent, then claim them. If they *can* be claimed by another, then they can't claim themselves (ie: they can't take a personal deduction for themselves). There are oddities in the current law that can allow for someone to not be able to be claimed by anyone, but yours may not be one of those situations. As an aside, there are no practical methods to catch if you didn't claim a dependent you should have claimed.