Can I claim my mother as a dependent if she receives disability income?
Title: Can I claim my mother as a dependent if she receives disability income? 1 I'm 26 years old and making around $62k annually. My mom has a disability and receives about $1,550 monthly from disability benefits. We're in Georgia, and she's been living with me for the past 2 years since her condition worsened. I'm covering pretty much all our housing expenses (rent, utilities, groceries) and helping with her medical needs since she requires regular assistance. She doesn't work due to her condition. I'm wondering if there's any possibility I could claim her as a dependent on my tax return? Not sure if her disability income affects this or what the requirements are. Any advice would be appreciated!
20 comments
Join the conversation
Yara Abboud
15 You can likely claim your mother as a qualifying relative dependent. Here's what you need to meet: 1) Her income needs to be below $4,700 (for 2025 filing) - disability benefits do count toward this limit, so at $1,550/month, she's at about $18,600 annually, which unfortunately exceeds the income limit. However, there's an exception! Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) counts toward this limit, but Supplemental Security Income (SSI) does not. So if any portion is SSI, you might exclude that part. 2) You must provide more than half of her support for the year, which sounds like you're clearly doing by covering housing, utilities, food, etc. 3) She doesn't need to live with you to qualify as a parent, but she does in your case anyway. 4) She cannot file a joint return with someone else (unless it's just to claim a refund). If her entire income is SSDI and exceeds $4,700, unfortunately you likely can't claim her as a dependent. But double-check which type of disability benefits she receives - that makes a big difference!
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•8 Thanks for the detailed response! I'm actually not sure if she gets SSDI or SSI. Is there an easy way to tell the difference? Also, if I can't claim her as a dependent, are there any other tax benefits I can get for supporting her?
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•15 You can usually tell by looking at her benefit statement - SSI payments typically come on the 1st of the month while SSDI often comes on the 3rd Wednesday (based on birth date). SSI is needs-based with limited resources while SSDI is based on work credits. For alternative tax benefits, look into claiming the "Credit for Other Dependents" which has different income requirements. You might also qualify for Head of Household filing status even if she isn't your dependent, as long as you pay more than half the household costs. This gives better tax rates and a higher standard deduction. Additionally, if you pay for her medical expenses, you might be able to include those when itemizing deductions if they exceed 7.5% of your AGI.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
12 After struggling with a similar situation with my father last year, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it honestly saved me so much confusion. My dad gets both VA disability and some other benefits, and I couldn't figure out which counted for the dependent income test. I uploaded his benefit statements to taxr.ai and it identified exactly which portions counted toward the income limit for dependency status. The tool broke down all the requirements and showed me that I could actually claim him despite his benefits.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•18 Does taxr.ai work for other dependent situations too? My sister lives with me but she works part-time. I'm not sure if I can claim her.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•7 I'm curious - how accurate is it? I've been burned by online tax tools before that gave me incorrect information and I ended up with a letter from the IRS.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•12 Yes, it definitely works for all dependent situations! You just answer questions about your sister's age, relationship, income, etc., and it will calculate whether she qualifies under either the qualifying child or qualifying relative tests. It even explains the different rules that apply to siblings. Regarding accuracy, I was skeptical too initially. What made the difference is that taxr.ai actually explains the specific tax code sections that apply to your situation. It's not just giving generic advice - it shows you exactly which IRS rules apply and why. When I got audited last year (for something unrelated), I used their documentation to support my dependent claim and the IRS accepted it without question.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
18 Just wanted to update about my experience using taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. I was able to upload my sister's W-2 and answer questions about our living situation. The system determined I could claim her as a qualifying relative since she makes under the threshold and I provide over half her support. It even generated a support worksheet I can keep for my records in case of an audit. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a complicated dependent situation like with your mom!
0 coins
Yara Abboud
5 I had a similar issue with my dad's disability income. After trying to reach the IRS for weeks with no luck, I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of being on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent walked me through exactly which disability benefits count toward the income limit and confirmed I could claim my dad despite his VA disability. Saved me so much stress!
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•22 Wait, this seems too good to be true. How does this actually work? Does it just call the IRS for you or something? I've been on hold with them for literally 3+ hours before giving up.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•10 I'm extremely skeptical. If the IRS phone lines are jammed, how does this service magically get through? Sounds like a scam to me.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•5 It doesn't call for you - it holds your place in line and then calls you when an IRS agent is about to answer. They have some technology that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold so you don't have to. As for how they get through when lines are jammed - they don't have a special line or anything magical. The service just does the waiting for you. Instead of you personally sitting on hold for hours, their system does it. When an agent is about to pick up, you get called so you can talk directly to the IRS. It's basically like having someone wait in a physical line for you.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
10 I take back everything I said about Claimyr being a scam. I was desperate after not being able to resolve my tax situation for weeks, so I tried it yesterday. Got a call back in about 45 minutes and spoke directly with an IRS agent who answered all my dependent questions. Turns out I CAN claim my brother even though he gets unemployment because of some exceptions I had no idea about. Just wanted to update that it actually works - saved me from taking a day off work to sit on hold.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
3 If your mom gets regular disability (not SSI), another option is to look into the "Credit for Other Dependents" which gives you $500 even if she doesn't qualify as a dependent due to income. Also, you might still qualify for Head of Household status if you provide more than half the cost of maintaining the home where your mother lives, which gives better tax rates than filing Single.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•14 Does the Credit for Other Dependents have income limitations too? And can you explain more about Head of Household? I thought you needed a qualifying dependent for that.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•3 For the Credit for Other Dependents, your mother would still need to meet all the dependent tests EXCEPT she can exceed the income test. So if her only disqualification is having too much income, you can still get this $500 credit. For Head of Household, you're partly right - you generally need a qualifying person, but that person doesn't have to be a dependent in all cases. For a parent, they don't need to live with you, but you need to be able to claim them as a dependent (except for the income test). So if your mother would qualify as your dependent except for her income, you can still file as Head of Household if you pay more than half the cost of keeping up her home.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
6 Have you considered setting up a Dependent Care FSA through your employer? If your mother is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, you might be able to use this to pay for some of her care expenses with pre-tax dollars. Worth looking into.
0 coins
Yara Abboud
•9 Don't you need to be working or looking for work to claim the Dependent Care FSA benefit? I'm not sure it applies to disabled adults.
0 coins
Nia Wilson
•Actually, the Dependent Care FSA can be used for disabled adults! You're thinking of the Child and Dependent Care Credit which has work requirements. The FSA is different - you can use it for care of a qualifying individual who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, regardless of age. Since OP mentioned their mom requires regular assistance due to her condition, this could definitely apply. You can set aside up to $5,000 pre-tax annually to pay for her care expenses. Just make sure the care is necessary for you to work.
0 coins
Chloe Robinson
This is such a complex situation, and I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences! I'm dealing with something similar with my grandmother who gets both SSDI and a small pension. One thing I learned from my tax preparer is that you should also keep detailed records of all the support you provide - receipts for groceries, utilities, rent payments, medical expenses, etc. The IRS support test requires you to provide more than half of someone's total support for the year, and having documentation makes this much easier to prove if questioned. Also, even if you can't claim her as a dependent this year due to the income limit, her disability status might change or her income might fluctuate, so it's worth reassessing each tax year. Some people don't realize that certain one-time payments (like back disability payments) might affect the income calculation differently than regular monthly benefits. The Head of Household filing status suggestion is really valuable too - that alone can save you hundreds in taxes even without the dependent exemption. Make sure to calculate both scenarios to see which gives you the better outcome!
0 coins