claiming a senior relative as a dependent

[bigliitlerock80]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

1) If a senior relative I may be able to claim as dependent is below minimum IRS filing level (meaning he doesn't have to file), does he have to file with IRS to indicate someone else can claim him as dependent for me to be able to claim him as dependent?

2) Senior relative co-owns the house with me w/o mortgage, and has social sec income. Should a 1/2 of a reasonable fair market value of rent for the house be considered as living expense the senior relative is proving himself?

3) Senior citizen has me on his bank account as a joint account holder. If he pays for some of living expense out of this bank account, how should that be accounted? For example, he pays $100 of utility from this bank account where I'm a joint account holder, does tax law see this as the senior citizen pay only 1/2 of $100 no matter what the income was that got deposited into the bank account because he has me as a joint-account holder who has equivalent ownership of the money on this joint account? Or will the full $100 be counted as the expense he's providing himself?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

1) If a senior relative I may be able to claim as dependent is below minimum IRS filing level (meaning he doesn't have to file), does he have to file with IRS to indicate someone else can claim him as dependent for me to be able to claim him as dependent?

No.

2) Senior relative co-owns the house with me w/o mortgage, and has social sec income. Should a 1/2 of a reasonable fair market value of rent for the house be considered as living expense the senior relative is proving himself?

3) Senior citizen has me on his bank account as a joint account holder. If he pays for some of living expense out of this bank account, how should that be accounted? For example, he pays $100 of utility from this bank account where I'm a joint account holder, does tax law see this as the senior citizen pay only 1/2 of $100 no matter what the income was that got deposited into the bank account because he has me as a joint-account holder who has equivalent ownership of the money on this joint account? Or will the full $100 be counted as the expense he's providing himself?

The more basic way to look at things is by comparing incomes and actual expenses. If the home has no mortgage, and the relative co owns it, then no rent would be implied, because he is providing his own housing. If there is a mortgage and you are paying it, then his share of the mortgage can be considered. If his SS benefits are enough to cover his share of living expenses and his bills, then he would not be someone's dependent. If his SS benefits are not enough to cover his share of the living expenses and bills, then what percentage do the SS benefits cover?