Can I claim siblings as dependents if they don't live with me full-time?

I've got a situation I could use some guidance on. My two siblings both have disabilities and they're in their mid-30s (35 and 37). They live at my dad's house, but I'm the one providing a lot of financial support for them. One of my siblings has a part-time job at a place that's really accommodating to their needs - they work about 15 hours weekly (5 hours, 3 days). My dad is retired and only receives social security disability income. I'm wondering if I can legally claim my siblings as dependents on my taxes even though we don't share the same residence? I'm covering a significant portion of their expenses but I'm unsure about the rules since we live separately. Thanks for any advice you can offer!!

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19 comments

Omar Fawzi

•8M

You can potentially claim your siblings as dependents even if they don't live with you. They would fall under the category of "qualifying relatives" rather than "qualifying children" for tax purposes. For them to be your qualifying relatives, you need to meet several criteria: 1) You must provide more than half of their total support for the year, 2) Their gross income must be less than the dependent exemption amount ($4,700 for 2024 tax year), 3) They cannot file a joint return with someone else, and 4) They must be related to you (which they are as siblings). The key difference between qualifying children and qualifying relatives is that qualifying relatives don't need to live with you to be your dependent. Since your siblings are related to you by blood, the residency requirement is waived as long as you meet the other criteria.

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Diego Mendoza

•8M

I went through a nearly identical situation with my disabled cousin who lives with my aunt. The IRS questioned my dependent claim and I was completely stressed trying to provide all the documentation they wanted. I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which helped me organize all my support records and explained exactly what qualified as support for a relative not living with me. The tool analyzed my situation and showed me I was actually providing 67% of my cousin's support through direct payments, medical expenses, clothing, etc. - way above the 50% requirement. It even helped me document things I hadn't considered "support" like transportation costs and phone bills I was paying. Made a huge difference when responding to the IRS.

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Diego Mendoza

•8M

It's specifically designed to handle special situations like disability benefits. The system asks about all income sources including SSI, SSDI, and other government benefits, then helps you calculate whether your contributions exceed 50% of their total support. It was super helpful for figuring out exactly where I stood. The tool doesn't directly connect to the IRS - it's a documentation and analysis system. What made it valuable for me was how it organized everything according to IRS guidelines and created proper documentation that satisfied their requirements during my review. It basically translated my situation into the exact format and language the IRS needed to see.

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StellarSurfer

•8M

Following up about taxr.ai - I decided to try it after being skeptical. I'm actually shocked at how helpful it was for my situation with my disabled uncle. The system walked me through calculating his total support (including his VA benefits) and showed me I was already providing 58% of his total care costs through things I hadn't even been tracking properly. The documentation it created looked totally professional and helped me claim him successfully this year. The best part was discovering I could include the medical expenses I pay for him as part of my itemized deductions too - something I completely missed before. Saved me about $3,200 in taxes!

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Sean Kelly

•8M

For anyone dealing with dependent claims for relatives not living with you - especially with disabilities - trying to call the IRS for clarification is a nightmare. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone who could answer my specific questions about support calculations. After 6 failed attempts and hours on hold, I tried https://claimyr.com (saw their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in less than an hour. The agent was able to review my specific situation and confirm that my disabled brother qualified as my dependent even living with our parents. She explained exactly how to document the support I provide and which forms to submit. Totally worth it after struggling for so long to get answers.

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Sean Kelly

•8M

They don't call for you - they use a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When they reach a live agent, you get a call to connect with them. It's basically like having someone wait on hold so you don't have to. I was skeptical too until I tried it. The IRS is definitely understaffed, but the service doesn't "skip the line" - it just handles the wait time for you. In my case, they navigated through the right options to get me to the specific department I needed, which I had been failing to reach on my own. I saved about 5 hours of hold time.

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Luca Greco

•8M

I'm eating my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was still struggling with questions about claiming my sister who lives in a group home. I decided to try it as a last resort before hiring an accountant. They got me through to the IRS Disability and Special Issues department in about 40 minutes (I'd been trying for days). The agent walked me through the exact support test for my situation and confirmed I could claim my sister since I pay for more than half her care, even with her receiving some benefits. Saved me from making a mistake on my return that would have definitely triggered an audit.

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Nia Thompson

•8M

Make sure you document EVERYTHING if you claim your siblings! When I claimed my disabled brother last year, I got audited because he doesn't live with me. I had to provide: - Receipts for all financial support - Medical bills I paid - Record of his income/benefits - Statement from our parent confirming my support - Estimates of total household costs where he lives It was a huge headache, but I won the audit because I had good records. Start keeping detailed documentation NOW if you plan to claim them.

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Nia Thompson

•8M

I had my mom write a simple statement saying: "I confirm that [my name] provided over 50% of [brother's name]'s total support for the tax year, including [list specific things I paid for]." She signed and dated it, and I had it notarized just to be safe, though that might be overkill. The key was having her acknowledge that my contributions exceeded half of his total support. You could help your mom draft something similar - it doesn't need to be complicated. The IRS just wants confirmation from the person they live with that you're the primary financial supporter.

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