Relationship Test

A person automatically meets this test for dependent status if he or she is one of the following:

• your child, grandchild, or great-grandchild (legally adopted children are treated as children; before legal adoption, a child is treated as your child if he or she was placed with you by an authorized agency and is a member of your household)
• your stepchild (but not a step-grandchild)
• your brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister
• your parent, grandparent, or other direct ancestor (but not a foster parent)
• your stepfather or stepmother (but not a step-grandparent)
• your aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew by blood; that is, the brother or sister of your father or mother, or the child of your brother or sister; or
• your father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.

The person must bear the listed relationship to you or, on a joint return, to your spouse. You don't need to show that the person is related to the particular spouse who actually provided the financial support unless you are married filing separately.

Example Peter Lake is the primary support for the uncle of his wife, Vera, although the uncle lives in his own apartment. If the Lakes file a joint return, they may claim the uncle as a dependent. However, if they file separately, neither spouse can claim the exemption because Peter does not bear the required relationship to the uncle or live with him for the whole year, and Vera does not provide more than one-half of the uncle's support.

You may have noticed that your spouse is not on the list of close relationships, above. That's because the spousal exemption is not treated as a dependency exemption, and the five tests do not apply to your spouse. On a joint return, you can automatically claim the exemption for your spouse, simply because you're married. If you file separately, you can claim the exemption for your spouse only if the spouse had no gross income at all and was not the dependent of any other taxpayer. However, in that situation you'd ordinarily have a much lower tax bill if you filed jointly.

If the individual meets this test or the member of household test, he or she meets the first requirement for dependent status.