Dependents are a great way to lower your tax liability. The IRS gives an allowance for reduced tax payments for tax payers that provide monetary support to others (dependents).

Dependents can include qualifying children. In order to claim a qualifying child several requirements must be met.

The individual must bear a specific relationship to the tax payer. The relationship requirements are defined as a child of the tax payer, a brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendent of these relatives.

The next requirement is age. The qualifying child must be younger than the tax payer and under the age of 19 as of the end of the calendar year.

If the qualifying child is currently a full time student for five months out of the year, the age limit moves up to under 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.

There is no age requirement if the child is permanently and totally disabled.

The next requirement is that the qualifying child must live with or have their principal address listed as the tax payer’s for more than half of the tax year.

Finally, the qualifying child cannot provide over half of his own support during the year. An individual who is married and files a joint return cannot be considered a qualifying child.

Even though an individual is not a qualifying child, they still may meet the requirements of a qualifying relative.