Who can I claim as a dependent on my tax return?

Dependents fall into two buckets: qualifying children and qualifying relatives, each with specific tests. A qualifying child must be your child, stepchild, sibling, or descendant, generally under 19 (or under 24 if a full-time student), live with you more than half the year, and not provide more than half their own support. A qualifying relative can be a broader set of people — including a parent or an adult child — if they earn under the gross-income limit (around $5,200 in 2025) and you provide more than half their support; they don't have to live with you in some cases. Claiming a dependent can unlock the child tax credit, the credit for other dependents, head-of-household status, and education credits. Each dependent can only be claimed by one taxpayer, which matters after a divorce. Tax software runs the dependency tests for you.