Can I claim my mother who receives SSI as a dependent if she doesn't live with me?

You can absolutely claim your mother as a dependent even though she doesn't live with you. This falls under what's called a "Qualifying Relative" dependent. There are a few tests you need to meet: 1) Member of Household OR Relationship Test - Your mother automatically meets this since she's your parent, regardless of where she lives. 2) Gross Income Test - SSI is generally not taxable and not counted as gross income for this purpose. As long as she doesn't have other income exceeding $4,700 (for 2025 filing), you're good here. 3) Support Test - You must provide more than half of her total support for the year. Based on what you've described (paying $2,900 of her $3,650 monthly facility costs plus another $450-500 for other expenses), you're clearly providing more than half her support. 4) Joint Return Test - Not applicable since I'm assuming she's not filing with a spouse. The fact that she receives SSI doesn't disqualify her as your dependent. The key factors are that she's your parent, her taxable income is below the threshold, and you provide more than half her support.

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I'm a little confused about the support test. My mother gets $841/month in SSI but the facility she lives in costs $4,200/month. Medicare covers about $1,800 of that, I pay the remaining $2,400, plus about $300 for other expenses. Does the Medicare portion count as support I'm providing or support she's providing? Not sure how to calculate if I'm providing over half.

Does anyone know how this works if the parent lives with another sibling part of the year and in assisted living part of the year? My mom lived with my sister January-August, then moved to a facility in September that I'm paying for. Can I still claim her or does my sister get to?

Based on what you've described, you should be able to claim your mother as a dependent under the "Qualifying Relative" rules. The key points that work in your favor: 1. **Relationship Test**: She's your mother, so this is automatically satisfied regardless of where she lives. 2. **Gross Income Test**: SSI benefits are not considered taxable income for dependency purposes, so as long as she has no other income over $4,700 (2025 threshold), she passes this test. 3. **Support Test**: You're paying $2,900 of her $3,650 monthly facility costs PLUS another $450-500 for other expenses. That's roughly $3,400+ per month you're contributing vs her $915 SSI contribution. You're clearly providing well over 50% of her total support. The fact that she doesn't live with you doesn't matter for qualifying relatives - only for qualifying children. And her SSI benefits actually help your case since they don't count toward the income limit but do reduce the total support amount you need to exceed. Make sure to keep detailed records of all payments you make on her behalf (facility payments, medical expenses, personal items, etc.) in case the IRS ever asks for documentation. You're in a very strong position to claim her as a dependent.