To claim a dependent, they must be either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative:
To be a qualifying child,
----- the child must be a specific relationship to you such as your son or daughter or sibling,
----- be under the age of 19 (or 24 if a full time college student for any portion of any 5 months during the year),
----- not provide more than 1/2 of their own support,
----- not file a joint return with another, and
----- the child must live with you for more than 1/2 of the year, including temporary absences such as being away for schooling.
----- the child be a US citizens or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico.
To be a qualifying relative,
----- you must provide more than 1/2 of the individuals support,
----- they must not earn more than $3,400 during the year,
----- they must not file a joint return with another
----- If they are not a relative, they must live with you all 365 days of the year
----- they must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
----- they are not a qualifying child of another taxpayer.
You don't mention your daughter's age. However, assuming she is under the age of 19, based on your situation, if they were away only temporarily, they would be a dependent as a qualifying child. If not, it's likely they would still be a dependent as a qualifying relative.
(Posted 03/08/08)
