Host: How does my child qualify on my tax return?

Aurthur Auerbach: It might seem strange that we single out children, but there are various aspects of a child being claimed on a return. For example, "Can you envision a scenario where the couple was divorced, but the child lives with one of the former spouses that lives with mom or with dad or in certain cases now unfortunately, we have folks who are on active duty and their child might be living with grandma or grandpa, an aunt or an uncle whatever the situation might be. So children are really very important. So the first definition - is it a qualifying child? The second question is where does the child live and who is providing more than half of their support? Those are questions that you need to determine with children. Now in a normal nuclear family where mom, dad and the kids all live in the same house this is not really a big problem. It's where there might be a marital split up or people are away for work or in the military and the child is living with somebody else. They may not be your child that's why I referenced in the qualifications there is now a term called Qualifying Relative. So while, might not be my specific child biologically, that child still might be my qualifying relative and I will be able to claim the Dependency Exemption.