Gross Income Limit for a Qualifying Relative

For tax year 2025, a person generally meets the gross-income test to be your qualifying relative only if their gross income is less than $5,200. This is one of several tests: meeting the income limit alone does not make someone a qualifying relative, and the amount can change by tax year.

What the gross-income test means

The qualifying-relative rules are federal tax rules used to determine whether a taxpayer may claim a person as a dependent. The gross-income test puts a ceiling on the person’s gross income for the relevant tax year. For 2025, the ceiling is $5,200, so income must be less than $5,200—not equal to it.

Use the threshold for the tax year covered by the return, not the year you file it. The $5,200 figure applies to 2025. For comparison, the threshold was $5,050 for 2024. Check the IRS instructions or current publications for other years rather than carrying an older amount forward.

What counts as gross income

Gross income for this test is generally all income received in the form of money, property, or services that is not exempt from tax. It is not simply wages, and it is not the person’s take-home pay. Depending on the circumstances, income can include wages, taxable interest, dividends, taxable retirement distributions, rental income, and net income from self-employment or a business.

Some income is excluded under the tax rules, and special rules apply to certain kinds of income. For instance, tax-exempt income is generally not included in gross income for this test. Social Security benefits are not automatically counted in full: whether benefits are taxable depends on the person’s overall situation, and the nontaxable portion generally is not gross income. Do not assume that every payment received counts, or that a payment omitted from taxable income on a return can always be ignored. Consult the IRS qualifying-relative instructions or a tax professional when a particular payment is unclear.

• Wages: Generally count taxable wages before payroll deductions, rather than the amount deposited after withholding.
• Business or self-employment income: The relevant figure is generally net income after allowable business expenses, not gross receipts alone.
• Tax-exempt income: Generally does not enter the gross-income calculation, though it may matter to other parts of the dependency rules.
• Gifts and inheritances: These are not automatically taxable gross income merely because the person received money or property; the details and any income produced by the property can matter.

All qualifying-relative tests

A person must meet every applicable qualifying-relative test. The gross-income test is only one part of the decision. In general, the person must not be someone who qualifies as another taxpayer’s qualifying child, and either must be related to you in a way the rules recognize or must live with you as a member of your household for the entire year. The relationship and household requirements have specific definitions.

You must also provide more than half of the person’s total support for the year. Support can include costs such as housing, food, medical care, clothing, and education. The support calculation is separate from the income calculation: a person’s income may be low enough, but you still may fail the support test if you did not provide more than half of their support.

For a person who is not your relative under the applicable relationship rules, living in your home for only part of the year generally does not satisfy the full-year household requirement. A relative may qualify without living with you, provided the other tests are met. These rules can be fact-specific, so assess each test independently.

Examples of how the limit works

Suppose your parent has $4,900 of gross income in 2025. That amount is below $5,200, so the parent meets the gross-income test. You would still need to check the relationship, qualifying-child, and support tests before treating the parent as a qualifying relative.

If a person has exactly $5,200 of gross income in 2025, they do not meet the test because the rule requires income to be less than the limit. Likewise, a person with $5,350 does not pass, even if you paid most of their living expenses. Support does not offset income for this test.

Consider a relative with $4,000 in taxable wages and $1,000 in tax-exempt interest. If the interest is properly treated as tax-exempt for this purpose, it generally is not added to gross income; the wages alone would be below the 2025 threshold. But the interest may still be relevant when you work out support, because money available to the person and money you provided can affect that separate calculation.

Common mistakes and how to check

• Using the wrong year’s limit: Match the threshold to the year for which the return is being prepared.
• Treating the limit as a deduction or allowance: It is a qualifying test, not an amount you subtract from income.
• Counting only wages: Review all potentially taxable income sources, not just an employer’s wage statement.
• Confusing income with support: The gross-income test and the more-than-half support test are distinct.
• Assuming a low-income person automatically qualifies: Relationship or household, qualifying-child, and support rules still apply.

A practical check is to identify the tax year, gather the person’s income records, determine which amounts count as gross income under that year’s IRS guidance, and compare the total with the strict “less than” threshold. Then separately document who paid the person’s support and review the remaining tests. Keep records of both income and support; they answer different questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the qualifying-relative income limit for 2025?
Gross income generally must be less than $5,200 for the 2025 tax year. Income of exactly $5,200 does not meet the test.

Does the qualifying-relative limit include Social Security?
Not necessarily in full. The taxable portion of Social Security may be included in gross income; nontaxable benefits generally are not. The person’s circumstances determine whether benefits are taxable.

Does the income limit change every year?
It can. Use the amount published for the tax year on the return. For example, the threshold was $5,050 in 2024 and is $5,200 in 2025.

Can I claim someone who earns more than the limit if I support them?
Providing more than half of someone’s support does not waive the gross-income test. A person over the applicable income limit generally fails the qualifying-relative test, even if you paid most of their expenses.

Is the qualifying-relative gross-income limit the same as the qualifying-child income limit?
No. The qualifying-relative gross-income test is not applied to someone who qualifies as your qualifying child under the separate rules. The two dependency categories have different tests.

Where to verify the rules

IRS Publication 501 and the IRS instructions for the relevant tax-year Form 1040 provide the detailed dependency tests and income guidance. Because income classification, support arrangements, and family relationships can be complicated, use the official guidance for the correct year or seek qualified tax help when the result is uncertain.

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