Who is a qualifying relative?

A qualifying relative is a relative who meets the following tests:

• Not a Qualifying Child - The person can't be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
• Relation or Residency - The person must meet one of the following:
  • Relation - The person must be related to you in one of the following ways:
    • Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them
    • Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister
    • Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not a foster parent
    • Your stepfather or stepmother
    • Your nephew or niece
    • Your uncle or aunt
    • Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law
  -OR-
  • Residency - The person must live with you all year as a member of your household.
• Gross Income - The person's gross income for the year must be less than $5,200.
• Support - You must generally provide more than half of the person's total support (living expenses) for the year. (See IRS Publication 501  for an exception)