To qualify as a dependent, what minimum level of support must a taxpayer provide for another person?

To qualify as a dependent, a taxpayer must provide more than half of the dependent's total support for the year. This is a requirement set by the IRS under the dependency exemption rules. The reasoning behind this is to ensure that the taxpayer is genuinely supporting the individual in question, indicating a significant level of financial responsibility.

When determining dependency, the total support includes all sources of income and support that the dependent receives, such as money spent on necessities like food, housing, clothing, medical care, and education. If the taxpayer provides more than 50% of this support, they can claim the individual as a dependent on their tax return, which can lead to qualified tax benefits.

In contrast, providing less than half or exactly half of the support does not meet the criteria for claiming someone as a dependent. This is because the taxpayer is not fulfilling the threshold that indicates they are the primary provider for that person’s financial needs. Therefore, the correct answer reflects the requirement needed to establish a qualifying dependent through substantial financial support.