Can my mother legally claim me as a dependent on her taxes when I'm 48, receiving SSDI, and paying rent?

Based on what you've described, it sounds like your mother likely should NOT be claiming you as a dependent. For someone to claim an adult as a dependent, they generally need to meet specific IRS requirements: 1. They must provide more than half of your financial support for the year 2. Your gross income (not counting Social Security benefits in most cases) must be less than $5,000 (for 2025 filing) 3. You must have lived with the person claiming you for the entire year (with some exceptions) Since you're paying rent and covering your own expenses, it's questionable whether your mother is providing more than half of your support. The rent you pay her should be counted against whatever support she provides. If you're truly financially independent and just paying rent to live there, she probably doesn't meet the support test. You should consider filing your own tax return, especially since you might qualify for credits or deductions that you're missing out on. The IRS has a worksheet to determine who provides more than half of someone's support.

After going through a similar situation with my brother who receives disability, I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped clear things up. It analyzes your specific situation and tells you exactly who can claim who as a dependent based on IRS rules. I uploaded info about his disability income and living arrangement, and it gave me a detailed breakdown of the support test calculation showing he wasn't actually my dependent despite living with me. The cool thing is it explained everything in simple terms and showed me what forms we each needed to file. Might be worth checking out since dependency with disability income can get complicated.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread and it was honestly super helpful! I uploaded my SSDI statements and info about what I pay for rent and other expenses, and it generated a report showing my mom only provides about 32% of my total support - nowhere near the 50%+ needed to claim me! She was pretty annoyed when I showed her the breakdown but couldn't argue with the numbers. I'm filing my own taxes this year and actually getting a refund because of some credits I qualified for. Thanks for the recommendation!

If your mom won't listen to reason about not claiming you anymore, you might need to talk to the IRS directly. I was in a somewhat similar situation with my ex claiming our adult son inappropriately. Calling the IRS was a nightmare - spent HOURS on hold just to be disconnected. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) through this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes who explained exactly what forms I needed to file to dispute the improper dependent claim. Instead of waiting on hold forever, they basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. The IRS agent I spoke with was super helpful and walked me through how to document that my son was supporting himself and couldn't be claimed by his dad.

I feel like an idiot for my previous comment. After my mom tried to claim me again this year despite me showing her I didn't qualify as her dependent, I was desperate enough to try Claimyr. I was SURE it wouldn't work, but damn, I got through to the IRS in like 20 minutes! The agent confirmed everything - because I pay rent and my own expenses using my SSDI, my mom can't claim me as a dependent. They even helped me understand how to file my own return properly. Now my mom is mad because she's losing a deduction, but the IRS lady said she could get penalized for incorrectly claiming me, so she's finally backing down. Should've done this years ago instead of letting her take advantage of the situation.

One thing nobody mentioned - if you file your own taxes and your mother still claims you as a dependent, both returns will get flagged by the IRS system. The second return filed will likely be rejected if e-filed. If you both paper file, you'll both probably get letters asking for clarification. If you're sure you don't qualify as her dependent (sounds like you don't), file your return first! That way her return claiming you will be the one rejected, and she'll have to fix it rather than you.

Is your mother low income? The reason I ask is because there are some tax credits that are much more valuable for people with dependents, like the Earned Income Credit. If she's working a low-wage job, losing you as a dependent could cost her thousands in tax credits. Not saying that makes it right for her to claim you incorrectly, but might explain why she's so insistent on doing it. Maybe you could work out some arrangement where she gives you part of her larger refund to make up for what you're losing?

You're absolutely right to question this situation. Based on what you've described, your mother should NOT be claiming you as a dependent. The key issue here is the support test - to claim an adult child as a dependent, the parent must provide more than 50% of that person's total support for the year. Since you're paying rent, utilities, groceries, and all your other expenses using your SSDI income, you're essentially supporting yourself. The fact that you pay her rent actually works against her dependency claim because it shows you're contributing to the household rather than being supported by it. Here's what I'd recommend: Calculate your total living expenses for the year (rent you pay her, food, utilities, medical expenses, etc.) versus what she actually pays for you out of her own pocket. I bet you'll find you're providing well over 50% of your own support. You should definitely file your own tax return and claim yourself. You might be missing out on valuable credits like the Earned Income Credit or other deductions. Plus, at 48 years old and financially independent, it's really time to take control of your own tax situation. Just be prepared for some family drama when you stop letting her claim you - but you're legally in the right here, and it sounds long overdue.