6 Tax Breaks If You Have an Adult Dependent

Caring for a parent or other family member could cut your income tax bill

Rocky Mengle,

AARP

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En español

Published February 24, 2025

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Jon Krause

If you’re caring for a parent or other adult relative, you might be able to get paid for your time and effort. You also might qualify for certain tax breaks.

The key is being able to claim the person you’re caring for as a dependent on your federal income tax return. That’s not a given — there are several requirements that must be satisfied. But if you can check all the boxes, you could be looking at hundreds or even thousands of dollars in tax savings.

Who qualifies as an adult dependent?

A dependent can either be a “qualifying child” or a “qualifying relative.” Different rules apply for each type. Adult dependents generally fall under the qualifying relative category.

You must pass the following seven tests for an adult to be considered a qualifying relative. If you meet all seven requirements, you can claim the adult as a dependent on your tax return and qualify for certain tax breaks.

1. Dependent taxpayer test

To pass this test, you can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return. If you’re married and filing a joint tax return, your spouse can’t be someone else’s dependent, either.

One exception: You can still pass the test if the person who claims you (or your spouse) as a dependent only files a tax return to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated taxes paid during the tax year.

2. Joint return test

Typically you can check this box if the adult you’re supporting claims any filing status on their own tax return other than “married filing jointly.”

This requirement is also satisfied if a joint return is filed solely to claim a refund of taxes paid or withheld.

3. Citizen or resident test

You’ll clear this hurdle if the adult you’re supporting:

is a U.S. citizen.
is what the IRS terms a "resident alien," meaning the individual has lawful permanent residency (also known as a green card) or has been physically present in the U.S. for at least 31 days during the tax year and 183 days during the three-year period that includes the current tax year and the two preceding years.
is a U.S. national — someone who is not a citizen but who owes allegiance to the U.S. (for example, American Samoans and Northern Mariana Islanders who chose to become U.S. nationals instead of citizens).
is a resident of Canada or Mexico.

4. Qualifying child test

Although a qualifying relative can be any age, a person can’t be a qualifying relative if they can also be claimed as a qualifying child by you or anyone else. A qualifying child is someone who meets first three tests described above and:

Is your child (biological or adopted), stepchild, foster child, sibling, half-sibling, step-sibling or a descendant of any of these relatives.
Is either 18 or younger at the end of the tax year, 23 or younger and a student at the end of the tax year, or any age if they have a permanent and total disability.
Lived with you for more than half of the tax year.
Did not provide more than half of their own financial support for the tax year.

5. Member of household or relationship test

There are two ways to satisfy this requirement. The adult you’re supporting can either live with you for the entire tax year (or until their death) as a member of your household or be one of the following types of relatives:

Your child (including an adopted child), stepchild, foster child or a descendant of any of these (such as your grandchild).
Your brother, sister, half-sibling, stepbrother or stepsister.
Your father, mother, grandparent or other direct ancestor (but not your foster parent).
Your stepfather or stepmother.
Your niece or nephew (including a son or daughter of a half-sibling).
Your aunt or uncle.
Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

If you’re married and file a joint tax return, the person you’re supporting can be related to either you or your spouse in one of these ways. Note, however, that your spouse can’t be your qualifying relative.

6. Gross income test

This test is often the hardest to satisfy. For the 2024 tax year, the gross income of the person you’re supporting must be less than $5,050 ($5,200 for 2025).

Income that isn’t exempt from tax is included in a person’s gross income. This includes all taxable Social Security benefits and unemployment compensation. However, if a person has a permanent and total disability, certain income for services performed at a sheltered workshop might not count as gross income.

7. Support test

Generally, you must have provided more than 50 percent of the person’s total support during the tax year. For this purpose, total support includes all money spent to provide food, housing, clothing, medical and dental care, education, transportation, recreation and similar necessities.

Special rules apply if two or more people helped support an individual but no one in the group provided more than half of that person’s total support for the year. In that case, the people providing support can agree that one person from the group can claim the supported person as a dependent. However, the person selected must have supplied more than 10 percent of the person’s total support. The other support providers must sign a statement affirming that they won’t claim the supported person as a dependent for that tax year.

How claiming a dependent can cut your tax bill

If you can claim an adult as a dependent, you might be able to claim certain tax credits and deductions or use a more favorable filing status, which can reduce your overall tax burden. (A deduction reduces your taxable income, which reduces your tax bill; a credit reduces your tax bill, dollar for dollar.)

Here are six tax benefits that might be available if you satisfy all seven of the tests above for having a qualifying relative.

1. Credit for other dependents

Most people have heard of the child tax credit, which is generally available to people with dependents who are qualifying children (assuming the child is 16 or younger and has a Social Security number). However, the child tax credit is not available for dependents who are qualifying relatives.

Instead, the credit for other dependents can generally be claimed for each qualifying relative. However, your relative must have a Social Security number, individual taxpayer identification number or adoption taxpayer identification number by the due date for your federal income tax return (including any tax filing extensions). They also can’t be residents of Canada or Mexico for this tax credit.

The credit for other dependents is worth up to $500 for each qualifying dependent. However, it’s gradually phased out (potentially to zero) for joint filers with a modified adjusted gross income (AGI) of more than $400,000 and other taxpayers with a modified AGI greater than $200,000. (Modified AGI is your AGI from line 11 of your Form 1040, plus certain exclusions and deductions for people living outside the U.S. and residents of American Samoa or Puerto Rico.)

2. Child and dependent care credit

This is another tax credit primarily associated with the cost of care for younger children. However, it can also be claimed for expenses related to the care of adult dependents who aren’t able to care for themselves and have lived with you for more than half of the tax year. The dependent care expenses must be work-related (that is, paid to enable you, or your spouse if you’re filing a joint return, to work or look for work).

The credit is equal to a percentage of the first $3,000 of qualifying work-related expenses for one dependent or the first $6,000 of expenses if you’re paying for the care of two or more dependents. The share of those expenses you can claim as a credit ranges from 20 percent to 35 percent, depending on your AGI (the lower your income, the higher the percentage). As a result, the maximum credit is $1,050 for one dependent or $2,100 for more than one dependent.

3. Education credits

If your support includes paying tuition and other education costs for an adult dependent, you might be able to claim the American Opportunity credit or the Lifetime Learning credit for those expenses.

The American Opportunity tax credit is generally available for the first four years of college and can be as high as $2,500 per eligible student per year. The Lifetime Learning credit is only worth up to $2,000 per eligible student per year but is not restricted to expenses for the first four years of college. Both credits are gradually phased out if your modified AGI is between $80,000 and $90,000 ($160,000 to $180,000 for married couples filing a joint return.

4. Student loan interest deduction

If you take out a loan to pay an adult dependent’s college or vocational school expenses, you might be able to deduct the interest payments. The deduction is worth up to $2,500 per year. However, for the 2024 tax year, the $2,500 maximum phases out for joint filers with a modified AGI between $165,000 and $195,000, and for other taxpayers with a modified AGI between $80,000 and $95,000. (The phase-out ranges are $170,000 to $200,000 and $85,000 to $100,000, respectively, for the 2025 tax year.)

5. Medical and dental expense deduction

If you itemize, you might be able to deduct an adult dependent’s unreimbursed medical expenses. The deduction is also available if an adult you support would have been your dependent except that they failed the gross income test, they filed a joint tax return, or you (or your spouse if filing jointly) could be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.

The definition of a “medical expense” for purposes of the deduction is quite broad. Not only does it include the costs to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent an illness or disease — it can also cover spending for related equipment, supplies and diagnostic devices. Dental care, health insurance premiums, transportation costs to get medical care, payments for qualified long-term care services and limited amounts paid for qualified long-term care insurance can count, too.

However, there is a catch: You can only deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of your AGI. Let's say your AGI is $50,000 and you have $6,000 in qualified medical expense. You can deduct $2,250 of those medical costs — the difference between your medical expenses ($6,000) and 7.5 percent of your AGI ($3,750).

6. Head-of-household filing status

If you’re not married, your tax bill might be lower if you can claim the head-of-household filing status instead of filing as a single person.

You may be able to file as a head of household if a qualifying child or qualifying relative lives with you for more than half the tax year (a qualifying relative who’s a dependent parent doesn’t have to live with you).

How can filing as a head of household cut your tax bill? Most notably, your standard deduction will be higher than if you file as a single taxpayer. The standard deduction for single filers is $14,600 for the 2024 tax year ($15,000 for 2025) but for heads of households it’s $21,900 ($22,500 for the 2025 tax year).

In addition, you might end up in a lower income tax bracket, pay tax on capital gains at a lower rate or qualify for a tax break (such as the Saver’s Credit) by filing as a head of household instead of as a single person.

The downside of being an adult dependent

While there are definite tax benefits for a person who can claim an adult family member as a dependent, it might not be so good from a tax perspective for the dependent adult.

For one thing, a dependent’s standard deduction is limited. For the 2024 tax year, it is generally restricted to the greater of $1,300 or earned income for the tax year plus $450 (but not more than the regular standard deduction amount).

For 2025, it’s capped at the higher of $1,350 or earned income for the tax year, plus $450 (again, not more than the regular standard deduction amount).

Dependents also aren’t eligible for certain tax deductions and credits, including the:

Earned income credit
Student loan interest deduction
American Opportunity credit
Lifetime Learning credit
Retirement savings contributions credit (Saver’s Credit)
Previously owned clean vehicle credit
Health insurance premium credit
First-time homebuyer credit
Health savings account (HSA) deduction

Consider any potential impact on the dependent’s tax liability before claiming an adult family member as a dependent on your tax return.

Need help with your tax return? Try AARP's tax calculator, or visit AARP Foundation Tax-Aide to learn about free tax prep services by 30,000 volunteers nationwide.

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Rocky Mengle has more than 25 years of experience covering federal and state tax developments for CPAs, tax attorneys, and ordinary taxpayers, including stints at Kiplinger Personal Finance and Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.

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6 Tax Breaks If You Have an Adult Dependent