There will ALWAYS be rules.
Of course, they must be a "qualified relative" before you can even hope to claim them. It depends on your specific tax situation, but each dependent is worth +/- $750 of additional refund.
no. also, you are not eligible until you are 25
An individual claiming another individual as a dependent on their taxes will receive a tax deduction of $3300. The amount that the individual will get back as a tax refund will be dependent upon the income of the taxpayer.
You may never claim your spouse as a dependent. You may, however, claim a standard exemption for your spouse if she does not have to file and you are not filing jointly (and as long as no one else is claiming her as a dependent).
There's a box that's checked on Form 1040EZ in line 5 if you're filing your own tax return and your parents are claiming you as a dependent. But you leave the box blank (unchecked) if you're using Form 1040A or Form 1040. On those two forms, it's the box on line 6a and it's stated "If someone can claim you as a dependent, do not check box 6a." The point of indicating on your tax return that your parents are claiming you as a dependent is to make sure that you don't take an exemption for yourself, because your parents are claiming your exemption on their return.
Of course, they must be a "qualified relative" before you can even hope to claim them. It depends on your specific tax situation, but each dependent is worth +/- $750 of additional refund.
The IRS will not allow you to claim a dependent that is not your child unless that child falls into one of the other allowable dependent categories such as stepchild or disabled family member. The penalties for claiming a child who is not your actual dependent according to the law include fines and possible jail time.
no. also, you are not eligible until you are 25
An individual claiming another individual as a dependent on their taxes will receive a tax deduction of $3300. The amount that the individual will get back as a tax refund will be dependent upon the income of the taxpayer.
Possibly. Receiving SS benefits does not by itself preclude claiming your parent as a dependent. But you still have to meet all of the other qualifications for claiming a dependent. SS benefits do not count toward the gross income limit for a qualifying relative if they are not taxable on the dependent's tax return. But if the parent spends the SS benefits on their own support, they count as money the parent spends on their own support. (You have to provide more than half the parent's support.) To see the other requirements for claiming a dependent, see page 11 of Publication 501: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
No, absolutely not. It does not make you responsible for anything to the dependent at all.
No, medical expenses for a dependent can only be claimed by the person who is claiming him or her as a dependent.
Being on welfare by itself does not prevent you from claiming your children as dependents. You still have to meet all of the usual tests for claiming a child such as the child provided less than half of his/her own support. Since welfare is not taxable, unless you had some other type of income during the same year, it is unlikely that this will do you a lot of good. Review Table 5 on page 11 of Publication 501 to see the requirements for claiming a dependent: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
An elderly dependent in most cases is a relative such as a parent or grandparent. The elderly dependent must be over the age of 65 and live full time with the person claiming them as a dependent.
You may never claim your spouse as a dependent. You may, however, claim a standard exemption for your spouse if she does not have to file and you are not filing jointly (and as long as no one else is claiming her as a dependent).
There's a box that's checked on Form 1040EZ in line 5 if you're filing your own tax return and your parents are claiming you as a dependent. But you leave the box blank (unchecked) if you're using Form 1040A or Form 1040. On those two forms, it's the box on line 6a and it's stated "If someone can claim you as a dependent, do not check box 6a." The point of indicating on your tax return that your parents are claiming you as a dependent is to make sure that you don't take an exemption for yourself, because your parents are claiming your exemption on their return.
If you are claiming as a dependent of your parents, then yes it is taken into account. If you are claiming yourself (independent) then they will look at your finances. Also, ther