Hello;

I am in NJ.

My mother-in-law lives with us full time. We do not collect any rent from her (she gives us a few dollars here and there, but not much). She pays for her clothing, health ins. car insurance, gas and misc items. We provide everything else (incl. food). She is currently receiving SS and a very small pension monthly - she is 66 years of age and not working.

Finally, here is my question: we've been told that it would be very difficult to claim her on our taxes because her annual income (SS and small pension) of approx. $13,000 is too much. I find that hard to believe as it would be very difficult in 2007 to support yourself for $13,000/year.

I would love to get another opinion as we have been steared the wrong way once before.

Thank you!

The question is whether her living expenses were more than $26K and that you provided the difference. The rule of thumb in claiming someone as a dependent is whether you provided more than half their support.

Even though its hard to survive on only $13K, she might be required to submit her own return.

thanks!

if I understand correctly - what I need to do then is make a list of all of her living expenses and go from there... do you know if I would just estimate the amount of rent she would be paying somewhere else?

and... does savings have any part of the equation? She does not have a lot, but she does have some.

thanks again.

Only interest earned on the savings has a bearing. Yes you can estimate what she would be paying in rent elsewhere since you are supplying her with room and board.

When determining her support, do NOT consider her Social Security income.

It has been my experience that most children CAN claim their parents if the only parental income is Social Security and small pensions.