Who can be claimed as a dependent? What are the rules? Well, it can depend on several things like: the person's age, relationship to taxpayer, where the person lives, their income, whether in school, what a divorce decree says...
To Learn about who can be a Qualifying Child & Qualifying Relative for tax purposes and possible credits click image 
Again, Use Your Tools!!  PUB 4012 Tab-C
PUB 4012 is available online --search for PUB 4012 in Google or follow this link: irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4012.pdf
PUB 4012 gets updated online in October and updated print copies are available in print early-mid November 
Click image below to see the Decision Tree and Interview Tips

More resources on Dependents if you are interested

From IRS' The How's of Taxes--interactive training/practice 
From IRS  PUB 4491 covers tax Law for the VITA/TCE volunteer 
  • Link & Learn interactive training modules  for Dependents -updated mid-November usually-- -click image on right
 
Topics like this one are pretty much the same year after year and can be reviewed anytime.
AARP'S TCE Tax program has some marvelous resources. One of them is their Decision Tree for Determining Tax Credits.  (multiple pages and trees) A fantabulous resource shared with me by several wonderful AARP volunteers who wanted me to share with you!

**Make sure you ALWAYS start from page 1 and follow charts in order as directed)
 Online Dependency Qualification Calculator
​(Click on image below)
from Colorado Tax Aide
IRS's Interactive Tax Assistance
(Whom may I claim as a Dependent?)
Shared by another VITA program--Thank you Bill! Click image to open quiz & answers
Prosperity Now's Taxpayer Opportunity Network (TON) has some helpful resources; slide shows and quizzes that you might find helpful. Here is the link for their Module 2 prosperitynow.org/resources/module-2-filing-status-and-dependency  (each image is also a link to their most current PDFs on each topic)
Filing Status & Dependency Practice
From Lancaster VITA--informative training Video
Remember your PUB 4012  is your 'Bible'-please refer to it, get familiar with it both in print and online. PUB 4012 and PUB 4491 should be your go to guide for tax questions.
​*As always, if you see an error or have a suggestion, please let me know. I am human, I make mistakes, and I am in no way a tax expert. 
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You can contact me at maryvitataxes@gmail.com 
Please note: I, Mary Meador, AM NOT a certified accountant or tax law expert. I volunteer with VITA providing free tax preparation for individuals and families whose income is less than $66,000 a year. We deal with simple returns at our sites.  I cannot guarantee the accuracy of all the information on this site as tax laws change and I may not have a clear understanding of complicated issues. I am trying to provide basic tax preparation information for our volunteers to get started--remember Publication 4012 is your go-to resource for questions, as well as irs.gov and Publication 17. ​