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marlynherb · Feb 6, 2010, 07:15 AM

Our daughter (single parent) lives in Jerusalem, Israel. She is divorced and has 4 young children. She gets assistance from Israel govt = 2009 was $11,608 USD. We pay for food, school, clothing and everything else. Her subsidy takes care of rent and health insurance. Can we claim her and the children on our tax form as an exemption? They are all U.S. citizens. We have spent more than we have for lawyer fees as the father will not let the children leave the country of Israel. We're not giving up. Thank you

njfalcon · Feb 6, 2010, 12:04 PM

To claim children or grandchildren as dependents, they must live with you for more than half the year, i.e. at least 6 months plus 1 day.
Also, they must be either under 19 years, or under 24 and a full-time student.

ebaines · Feb 8, 2010, 07:32 AM

You can not claim your daughter as a dependent because she I sover 19 and has more than $3,650 in gross income, even if you paid for more than half her support. As for the grandchildren - if your daughter is filing taxes and will be claiming them as her dependents - then you can not. However - if neither she nor her ex are claiming a grandchild, then you can IF all the following are true: (a) the grandchild is a US citizen, (b) he/she had less than $3650 in income, and (c) you provided at least half his/her support. Note - grandchildren do NOT need to live with you to be a "qualifying relative" for exemption purposes.