GroundSkill
EA Exam Part 1 · Lesson 1 of 48

Counting Dependents

Determine whether an individual is a qualifying child or qualifying relative dependent

A dependent is either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative, never both for the same person. This lesson tests the child path first and moves to the relative path only when the person cannot be a qualifying child.

Step 1 Test the child path

A qualifying child must pass six tests, all of them:

  • Relationship: your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother or stepsister, or a descendant of any of them (a grandchild, niece or nephew, for example).
  • Age: at the end of the year, under 19, or under 24 and a student, and in both cases younger than you (or than your spouse, if you file jointly). A child who is permanently and totally disabled passes at any age.
  • Residence: lived with you for more than half the year. There are exceptions for temporary absences, births and deaths during the year, kidnapped children, and children of divorced or separated parents.
  • Support: the child did not pay for more than half of their own support.
  • Citizenship: the child is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
  • Joint return: the child did not file a joint return for the year, unless the only reason for filing it was to get back income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. This is the joint-return test.

If any one test fails, the person is not your qualifying child, but they may still be your qualifying relative, which the next step covers. The table compares the two:

Qualifying child Qualifying relative
Who Your child or sibling, or a descendant of either A listed relative, or anyone who lived with you all year as a member of your household; never anyone's qualifying child
Age Under 19, or under 24 and a student, and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly); any age if permanently and totally disabled No age test
Where they live With you for more than half the year Listed relatives can live anywhere; anyone else must live with you all year
Support The child paid no more than half of their own support You paid more than half of their support
Income No income limit Gross income under $5,200 for 2025
Joint return Joint-return test Joint-return test
Check the child tests first. Only someone who is nobody's qualifying child moves on to the relative tests.

Worked example

Jo is unmarried. Her 17-year-old daughter lived with her all year, paid none of her own support, is a U.S. citizen and filed no tax return. She is Jo's daughter (relationship), under 19 and younger than Jo (age), lived with Jo for more than half the year (residence), paid none of her own support (support), is a citizen (citizenship) and filed no joint return (joint-return test). All six tests pass, so she is Jo's qualifying child.

Bo's brother is 28 and not disabled. He fails the age test straight away, so he cannot be Bo's qualifying child, whatever the other tests say. Bo moves on to the relative path to see whether his brother can be claimed that way.

IRS sources for this step (7)

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    You can’t claim a person as a dependent unless that person is your qualifying child or qualifying relative.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly); (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a student, and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly); or (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    5. The child must not be filing a joint return for the year (unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.2
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    4. The child must not have provided more than half of the child’s own support for the year.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    You can’t claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
    View on the source

Check this step

  1. Question 1Choose one.

    Lena, 30, unmarried, houses relatives in the United States all year. Each relative is unmarried, a U.S. citizen, did not provide more than half of their own support, and did not file a joint return. Which of the following meets the relationship and age tests for Lena's qualifying child?

Step 2 Test the relative path

A qualifying relative starts with one condition: the person must not be anyone's qualifying child, whether yours or another taxpayer's. If that condition is met, the person must also pass these tests:

  • Relationship or household: either a listed relative, who can live anywhere, or anyone else who lived with you all year as a member of your household (as long as the relationship doesn't break local law). The listed relatives are your child, stepchild or foster child and their descendants; your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother or stepsister; your parents, grandparents and other direct ancestors (but not a foster parent); your stepfather or stepmother; your nieces and nephews; your aunts and uncles; and your in-laws. A cousin is not a listed relative, so a cousin must live with you all year. Someone who was your spouse at any time during the year can't be your qualifying relative.
  • Gross income: under $5,200 for 2025. Pay that a permanently and totally disabled person earns at a sheltered workshop doesn't count.
  • Support: you provided more than half of the person's total support for the year. This runs the other way from the child path, which asks what the child paid; here the question is what you paid.
  • Citizenship and joint return: the same citizenship test and joint-return test as for a qualifying child.

Worked example

Sam's friend Ana, 40, lived with Sam all year as a member of his household. She earned $3,000 in 2025, Sam paid more than half of her support, she is a U.S. citizen and she filed no return. Nobody can claim her as a qualifying child, so that condition is met. Ana is not related to Sam, but she lived with him all year, so she passes the household test. Her income is under $5,200, Sam paid over half her support, and she passes the citizenship and joint-return tests, so she is Sam's qualifying relative. Had she moved in during March instead, she would fail the household test, because someone who is not a listed relative must live with you the whole year.

IRS sources for this step (8)

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    The person can’t be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    You can’t claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    3. The person’s gross income for the year must be less than $5,200.3
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    4. You must provide more than half of the person’s total support for the year.4
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 19 — Member of Household or Relationship Test

    If at any time during the year the person was your spouse, that person can’t be your qualifying relative.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 19 — Gross Income Test

    For purposes of the gross income test, the gross income of an individual who is permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year doesn’t include income for services the individual performs at a sheltered workshop.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 12

    You can’t claim a married person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid.
    View on the source

  • Publication 501 Page 19 — Member of Household or Relationship Test

    Relatives who don’t have to live with you. A person related to you in any of the following ways doesn’t have to live with you all year as a member of your household to meet this test.
    View on the source

Check this step

  1. Question 1Choose one.

    Which person meets the 'not the qualifying child of any taxpayer' requirement and the gross-income test for Diego's qualifying relative?

599 practice questions for EA Exam Part 1

The course asks you questions like these as you learn, brings back the ones you miss, and ends with full-length practice exams.

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All 48 lessons in EA Exam Part 1
  1. Dependents, Filing Status, and a Clean File
    1. Counting Dependents
    2. Stop Rejections Before the Math
    3. Who the Taxpayer Is
    4. Resident or Nonresident
    5. Whether, When, and How to File
    6. Mapping the Whole Return
    7. Special Situations at Intake
  2. Everyday Income
    1. Pay, Interest, and Dividends
    2. Rentals, Gambling, and Canceled Debt
    3. Earning Abroad
    4. Odd Receipts and Timing
    5. Passive and Pass-Through Income
    6. Refunds, Forms 1099, and Children's Income
  3. Retirement Money
    1. IRA Basis and Roth Treatment
    2. Leaving the Plan
    3. Penalties on Early Money
    4. Required Withdrawals and Inherited Accounts
    5. Social Security and Foreign Pensions
  4. Property Sales and Basis
    1. What the Property Cost
    2. Gains, Losses, and Netting
    3. Shares and Partnership Interests
    4. Exclusions and Deferred Sales
    5. Options, Bad Debts, and Trader Status
  5. Adjustments and Itemized Deductions
    1. Retirement, HSA, and Self-Employed Adjustments
    2. Student Loans, Alimony Paid, and Moving
    3. Medical Costs, Taxes, and Mortgage Interest
    4. Gifts, Casualties, and Other Itemized
    5. Investment Interest and the QBI Deduction
  6. Credits
    1. Child Care and Child Credits
    2. School Credits and Foreign Taxes Paid
    3. Earned Income and Adoption Credits
    4. Health Credits and the Rest
  7. Total Tax and Penalties
    1. The Alternative Minimum Tax
    2. Self-Employment and Household Taxes
    3. Investment and Medicare Surtaxes
    4. Clergy, Military, and Decedents
    5. Paying on Time
  8. Estates, Gifts, and Foreign Reports
    1. Counting the Estate
    2. Spouses and Estate Filing
    3. Giving While Living
    4. Skipping Generations and Reporting Gifts
    5. Accounts and Entities Abroad
    6. Foreign-Reporting Penalties
  9. Planning and Fixing Returns
    1. Reporting and Fixing the Return
    2. Selling, Schooling, and Passing On
    3. Retirement and Timing Choices
    4. Marriage, Divorce, and Carryovers
    5. When Spouses Need Relief

GroundSkill is independently produced and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the IRS. Sources last checked 2026-09-14. Exam preparation, not tax advice.