can i claim my 15 years old brother as my tax dependent?

You already have so many question posted and none of the answers seems to satisfy you. My answer might also tangled you into confusion (if read with all the other answers). Per my understanding, you are talking about Philippine tax laws. I think it will be best if you will read the NIRC for the complete provision of the law. You may visit the BIR website so you may find a copy of the provisions (www.bir.gov.ph) or if you want full details and don’t want to read it, you may call the BIR Contact Center at 981-8888, they have knowledgeable and friendly operators willing to help you in your questions.

First off at 18 taking care of yourself let alone you younger brother is highly admirable. My heart and my prayers go out to you.

Yes. You are correct.

By Law - You may claim your brother as a dependant.

Cute Mama has good advice. To add to it, since you have internet access you should check out your online resources as well. Take a look at the reference link below. Print out the form and highlight it if you can. At the very least read it, and familiarize yourself with the definitions of “Head of Household” & “Dependant”. Take it into the admin office.

Don’t let your age be to your disadvantage in the work place.

Get your TIN.

By the definition of terms you are the “Head of household”.

Your brother qualifies as a "Dependent Child" since he is under 21 yrs old and dependant upon you for his chief support. I am assuming that he is not married nor is he gainfully employed. Now if he is running a family sari-sari store while you are at work that might be a different story.

Your parents or grandparents, you may also qualify as dependants as senior citizen under Republic Act 7432.

The rule that the admin person of the company is refering to; is that if your brother were to be disabled, mentally or physically, to the point of not being able to make a living for himself and the burden of care fell to you, then you could also claim him as a dependant no matter what his age.

This may also be of assistance

Annual Income Tax Return – BIR form # 1700

ftp://ftp.bir.gov.ph/webadmin1/pdf/27081700.pdf

Your brother is still a minor. If you 'support' your brother (pay for his rent, food, are responsible for his medical care and bills) then the answer is YES, you may claim him as your tax dependent ... and you should 'follow through' by making the claim in your income tax, too. He does NOT have to have any type of 'disability' or even live with you as long as YOU provide more than 'half' of the money it takes for him to LIVE.

Are you legal guardian?

Are you paying for 50% or more of his care?

Is he a minor?

Are you the only one that can claim him?

If not a minor, is he mentally or physically challenged?

These are a few basic rules for claiming a dependant.

Use your telephone and check with an accountant AND call the IRS for rules.

The company you work are not obligated to allow you to claim him as a deduction. So, yes they can deny you to claim him on their forms. You just claim zero or yourself until tax time. The accountant and IRS answer (if favorable) will allow you to claim that individual on your tax return and not before.

For tax purposes and legal as well, you have to be the sole support of this person. This in easy terms means that he lives with you and not parents or other relative.

If you are and no one else can claim him, then you are legally allowed to claim him!

As for work you can claim any up to 9 deductions, you can legally lie on this as it is only used to establish a reasonable amount to deduct from each paycheck, it is your tax return that you MUST put the correct amount of deductions on...

Good luck!

Yes and no. It depends. If no one else is claiming him as a dependent, then maybe. The best way for you to answer your question is the get information from the IRS at their website: IRS.GOV. Look under publications or keyword :"dependents." The publication should give you all the information that you need.

Under the law, you can claim your 15 years old brother as a dependent.

The requirement for a dependent (if is a sibling) are either he is below 18 (or 21, I already forgot).

or

if he is above the age, he should have phisical or mental incapacity

visit:

http://www.wraithstrider.com/

it has a SALARY CALCULATOR under the "Project Strider" menu.

I don't know about Philippine taxes, but in American taxes, your brother would have to be financially dependent on you for you to claim him as a dependent. In other words, you would have to be the primary person responsible for paying his food, housing, etc.

Go with what your company suggests, or talk to a tax lawyer in your country.

If you furnished support for him for more than half the tax year you can claim him as long as no one else is claiming him. If two or more people try to claim him someone is going to end up with a problem.

I haven't read your previous questions, but I'll take a stab at an answer anyway...

I believe you can claim your brother only if you are his legal guardian and support him during the year.... you may want to consult with your accountant for a more accurate answer, though... he should know.

:)