Exemptions Generally, you can deduct $2,750 for each exemption you claim in1999. However, if your adjusted gross income is more than $94,975, seePhaseout of Exemptions, later. There are two types of exemptions: personal exemptions andexemptions for dependents. If you are entitled to claim an exemptionfor a dependent (such as your child), that dependent cannot claim hisor her personal exemption on his or her own tax return. Personal Exemptions You can claim your own exemption unless someone else can claim it.If you are married, you may be able to take an exemption for yourspouse. These are called personal exemptions. Exemption for Your Spouse Your spouse is never considered your dependent. You may be able totake an exemption for your spouse only because you are married. Joint return.On a joint return, you can claim one exemption for yourself and onefor your spouse. If your spouse had any gross income, you can claim hisor her exemption only if you file a joint return. Separate return.If you file a separate return, you can take an exemption for yourspouse only if your spouse had no gross income and was notthe dependent of another taxpayer. If your spouse is the dependent ofanother taxpayer, you cannot claim an exemption for your spouse evenif the other taxpayer does not actually claim your spouse's exemption. Alimony paid.If you paid alimony to your spouse, you cannot take an exemptionfor your spouse. This is because alimony is gross income to the spousewho received it. Divorced or separated spouse.You cannot take an exemption for your former spouse for the year inwhich you were divorced or legally separated under a final decree.This rule applies even if you paid all your former spouse's supportthat year. Exemptions for Dependents You can take an exemption for each person who meets all fiveof the exemption tests discussed later. Caution: If you can claim an exemption for your dependent, the dependentcannot claim his or her own exemption on his or her own tax return.This is true even if you do not claim the dependent's exemption onyour return or if the exemption will be reduced or eliminated underthe phaseout rule for high-income individuals. Exemption Tests The following five tests must be met for you to claim an exemptionfor a person other than yourself or your spouse. Member of Household or Relationship Test. Citizenship Test. Joint Return Test. Gross Income Test. Support Test. 1. Member of Householdor Relationship Test To meet this test, the person must either: Be related to you, or Live with you for the entire year as a member of yourhousehold. Related.A person related to you in any of the following ways meets thistest even if he or she did not live with you for the entire year as amember of your household. Child Stepmother Stepchild Stepfather Mother Mother-in-law Father Father-in-law Grandparent Brother-in-law Great-grandparent Sister-in-law Brother Son-in-law Sister Daughter-in-law Grandchild If related by blood: Great-grandchild  Uncle Half-brother  Aunt Half-sister  Nephew Stepbrother  Niece Stepsister   Any relationships that have been established by marriage arenot considered ended by death or divorce. Child.Your child is: Your son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, or legallyadopted son or daughter, A child who lived with you in your home as a member of yourfamily, if placed with you by an authorized placement agency for legaladoption, or A foster child (any child who lived with you in your home asa member of your family for the entire year). Member of household.If the person is not related to you, he or she must have lived inyour home as a member of your household for the entire year (exceptfor temporary absences, such as for vacation or school) for you to beable to claim his or her exemption. A person is not a member of yourhousehold if at any time during your tax year the relationship betweenyou and that person violates local law. 2. Citizenship Test To meet the citizenship test, a person must be a U.S. citizen orresident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico for some part of thecalendar year in which your tax year begins. Children usually are citizens or residents of the country of theirparents. If you were a U.S. citizen when your child was born, thechild may be a U.S. citizen although the other parent was anonresident alien and the child was born in a foreign country. If so,and the other exemption tests are met, the child is your dependent andyou may take the exemption. It does not matter if the child livesabroad with the nonresident alien parent. Special rule for your adopted child.If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad who has legally adopted achild who meets the other exemption tests, the citizenship test doesnot apply. You can take the exemption if your home is the child's mainhome and the child is a member of your household for the entire year. 3. Joint Return Test Even if the other exemption tests are met, you are generally notallowed an exemption for a person other than yourself or your spouseif he or she files a joint return. However, this test does not applyif a joint return is filed by a dependent and his or her spouse merelyas a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for eitherspouse on the basis of separate returns. 4. Gross Income Test You cannot take an exemption for a person other than yourself oryour spouse if that person had gross income of $2,750 or more for theyear. All income in the form of money, property, and services that isnot exempt from tax is gross income. Gross income does not includenontaxable income, such as welfare benefits or nontaxable socialsecurity benefits. Special rules for your child.The gross income test does not apply if your child: Is under age 19 at the end of the year, or Is a student during the year and is under age 24 at the endof the year. Child.See 1. Member of Household or Relationship Test,earlier, for the definition of "child." Student.billig unterkunft LimerickTo qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part ofeach of 5 calendar months during the year (not necessarilyconsecutive): A full-time student at a school that has a regular teachingstaff and course of study, and a regularly enrolled body of studentsin attendance, or A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course givenby a school described in (1) above or a state, county, or localgovernment. A full-time student is one who is enrolled for thenumber of hours or courses the school considers to be full-timeattendance. The term "school" includes elementary schools, junior andsenior high schools, colleges, universities, and technical, trade, andmechanical schools. It does not include on-the-job trainingcourses, correspondence schools, or night schools. 5. Support Test You must provide more than half of a person's total support for thecalendar year to meet the support test. If you file a joint return,the support could have come from you or your spouse. Even if you didnot provide over half the person's support, you will be treated ashaving provided over half the support if you meet the tests explainedlater under Multiple Support Agreement. If you are divorced or separated and you or the other parent, orboth together, provided over half your child's support for the year,the support test for your child may be based on a special rule. SeeChildren of Divorced or Separated Parents, later. In figuring total support, you must include money the personprovided for his or her own support, even if this money was nottaxable (for example, gifts, savings, and welfare benefits). If yourchild was a student, do not include amounts he or she received asscholarships while a full-time student. Support includes food, a place to live, clothes, medical and dentalcare, recreation, and education. In figuring support, use the actualcost of these items. However, the cost of a place to live is figuredat its fair rental value. Support does not include income tax, social security and Medicaretaxes, premiums for life insurance, or funeral expenses. Joint ownership of home.If the person lives with you in a home that is jointly owned by youand your spouse or former spouse, and each of you has the right to useand live in the home, each of you is considered to provide half of theperson's lodging. However, if your decree of divorce gives only youthe right to use and live in the home, you are considered to providethe person's entire lodging. This is true even though legal title tothe home remains in the names of both you and your former spouse. Capital items.You must include capital items such as a car or furniture infiguring support, but only if they were actually given to, or boughtby, the person for his or her use or benefit. Do not include the costof a capital item for the use or benefit of other members of thehousehold. For example, include in support a bicycle purchased by andused solely by the person for transportation; do not include a lawnmower you purchase that is occasionally used by the person. Children of Divorcedor Separated Parents In general, a person must meet the support test explained earlierunder 5. Support Test. However, the support test for achild of divorced or separated parents is based on a special rule ifthe parents meet certain requirements. Figure 1. Support test for children of divorced or separated parents Special Rule Requirements Apply the special rule only if the parents meet all threeof the following requirements. The parents are: Divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce orseparate maintenance, Separated under a written separation agreement, or Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of thecalendar year. One or both parents provide more than half the child's totalsupport for the calendar year. One or both parents have custody of the child for more thanhalf the calendar year. The special rule does not apply if the child's support isdetermined under a multiple support agreement discussed later. Child is defined earlier under 1. Member ofHousehold or Relationship Test. Support provided by others.Support provided to a child of a divorced or separated parent by arelative or friend is not included as support provided by the parent.However, if you remarried, the support your new spouse provided istreated as provided by you. Example 1.You are divorced. During the whole year, you and your child livedwith your mother in a house she owns. You must include the fair rentalvalue of the home provided by your mother for your child in figuringtotal support, but not as part of the support provided by you. Example 2.You have two children from a former marriage who lived with you.You remarried and lived in a home owned by your present spouse. Thefair rental value of the home provided to the children by your presentspouse is treated as provided by you. Custodial Parent Under the special rule, the parent who had custody of the child forthe greater part of the year (the custodial parent) is generallytreated as the parent who provided more than half of the child'ssupport. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for thechild if the other exemption tests are met. However, seeNoncustodial Parent, later. Custody.Custody is usually determined by the terms of the most recentdecree of divorce or separate maintenance, or a later custody decree.If there is no decree, it will be determined by the written separationagreement. If neither a decree nor an agreement establishes custody, then theparent who had physical custody of the child for the greater part ofthe year is considered to have custody of the child. This also appliesif a decree or agreement calls for "split" custody, or if thevalidity of a decree or agreement awarding custody is uncertainbecause of legal proceedings pending on the last day of the calendaryear. If the parents were divorced or separated during the year afterhaving had joint custody of the child before the separation, theparent who had custody for the greater part of the rest of the year isconsidered the custodial parent. Example 1.Under the terms of your divorce decree, you had custody of yourchild for 10 months of the year. Your former spouse had custody forthe other 2 months. You and your former spouse provided the child'stotal support. You are considered to have provided more than half thechild's support because you are the custodial parent. Example 2.You and your former spouse provided your child's total support forthe year. You had custody of your child under your 1990 divorcedecree, but in October, a new custody decree granted custody to yourformer spouse. Because you had custody for the greater part of theyear, you are the custodial parent and are considered to have providedmore than half of your child's support. Example 3.You were separated on June 1. Before the separation, you and yourspouse had joint custody of your child. Your spouse had custody fromJune through September and you had custody from October throughDecember. Because your spouse had custody for 4 of the 7 monthsfollowing the separation, your spouse was the custodial parent for theyear and is treated as having provided more than half of the child'ssupport for the year. Noncustodial Parent Under the special rule, the parent who did not have custody, or whohad it for the shorter time, is the noncustodial parent. Thenoncustodial parent is treated as the parent who provided more thanhalf of the child's support if any one of the following threeconditions is met. The custodial parent signs a written declaration that he orshe will not claim the exemption for the child, and the noncustodialparent attaches this written declaration to his or her return. A decree or agreement went into effect after 1984and states the noncustodial parent can claim the child as adependent without regard to any condition, such as payment ofsupport. A decree or agreement executed before 1985provides that the noncustodial parent is entitled to theexemption, and he or she gave at least $600 for the child's supportduring the year. This is true unless the pre-1985 decree or agreementwas modified after 1984 to specify that this provision will notapply. Example 1.Under your 1984 divorce decree, your former spouse has custody ofyour child. The decree specifically states that you can claim thechild's exemption. You provided $1,000 of your child's support duringthe year and your spouse provided the rest. You are considered to haveprovided over half the child's support. See item (3) above. Example 2.You and your spouse provided all of your child's support. Underyour 1988 written separation agreement, your spouse has custody ofyour child. Because the agreement was made after 1984, you areconsidered to have provided over half the child's support only if yourspouse agrees not to claim the child's exemption by signing a writtendeclaration. See item (1) above. Written declaration.The custodial parent should use Form 8332, or a similar statement,to make the written declaration to release the exemption to thenoncustodial parent. The noncustodial parent must attach the form orstatement to his or her tax return. The exemption can be released for a single year, for a number ofspecified years (for example, alternate years), or for all futureyears, as specified in the declaration. If the exemption is releasedfor more than one year, the original release must be attached to thereturn of the noncustodial parent for the first year, and a copy ofthe release must be attached to the return for each succeeding taxableyear for which the noncustodial parent claims the exemption. Divorce decree or separation agreement made after 1984.luxury hotels in AmsterdamIf your divorce decree or separation agreement went into effectafter 1984 and it states that you can claim the exemption for yourchild without regard to any condition, such as payment ofsupport, you can attach a copy of the following pages from the decreeor agreement instead of Form 8332. The cover page (write the other parent's social securitynumber on this page). The page that states you can claim the exemption for yourchild. The signature page with the other parent's signature and thedate of the agreement. Caution: If your divorce decree or separation agreement went into effectafter 1984 and it states that you can claim the exemption for yourchild if you meet certain conditions, you must attach toyour return Form 8332 or a similar statement from the custodial parentreleasing the exemption. Divorce decree or separation agreement made before 1985.If you are a noncustodial parent who claims a child's exemptionunder a decree or agreement made before 1985, you must give at least$600 for that child's support. Child support.Child support payments received from the noncustodial parent areconsidered used for the child's support, even if actually spent onthings other than support. Example.Your 1982 divorce decree requires you to pay child support to thecustodial parent and states that you can claim your child's exemption.The custodial parent paid for all support items and put the $1,000child support you paid during the year into a savings account for thechild. Because your payments are considered used for support, you areconsidered to have provided over half the child's support. Back child support.If you fail to pay child support in the year it is due, but pay itin a later year, any payment of the overdue amount is not consideredchild support either for the year it was due or for the year in whichit is paid. It is payment of an amount owed to the custodial parent,but it is not child support provided by you. Example.You and your former spouse provide all your child's support. Your1984 divorce decree requires you to pay $800 child support each yearto the custodial parent and allows you to claim your child'sexemption. Last year you paid only $500, but you made up the $300 youowed by paying $1,100 this year. The $300 back child support you paidthis year is not considered support for last year or for this year. Medical Expenses A child of divorced or separated parents whose support test isbased on the special rule described in this section is treated as adependent of both parents for the medical expense deduction. A parentcan deduct medical expenses he or she paid for the child even if anexemption for the child is claimed by the other parent. Multiple Support Agreement Sometimes no one individual provides more than half of the supportof a person. Instead, two or more people, each of whom would be ableto take the exemption but for the support test, together provide morethan half of the person's support. One of those people can claim anexemption for that person if the requirements in Figure 2are met. Figure 2. Can You Claim an Exemption for a Dependent Under a Multiple Support Agreement? Phaseout of Exemptions The amount you can claim as a deduction for exemptions is phasedout if your adjusted gross income (AGI) for 1999 falls within therange shown below for your filing status. Filing Status AGI Single $126,600 - $249,100 Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) $189,950 - $312,450 Married filing separately $94,975 - $156,225 Head of household $158,300 - $280,800 If your AGI is more than the highest amount for your filingstatus, your deduction for exemptions is zero. If your AGI fallswithin the range, use the Deduction for Exemptions Worksheetin the instructions for Form 1040 to figure your deduction.