Who Is Considered Part of Your Household?

The definition of a “household” changes depending on the context. For example, your household for filing taxes could be different from your household for obtaining health insurance or applying for student aid. The composition of a household is based on specific criteria that can include relationships, financial support, and residency, which vary from one program to another.

Household Definition for Federal Taxes

For federal tax purposes, your household consists of yourself, your spouse if filing a joint return, and any individuals you can claim as dependents. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has rules to determine who qualifies as a dependent, categorized as either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative. Identifying your dependents helps determine your filing status and eligibility for tax credits and deductions.

An individual cannot be claimed as a dependent if they file a joint return with their spouse, unless that return is filed only to claim a refund. A dependent must also be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or a resident of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.

Qualifying Child

To claim someone as a qualifying child, five specific tests must be met. If a child meets these tests for more than one person, such as in cases of divorced parents, the IRS has tie-breaker rules to determine who can make the claim.

• Relationship: The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendant of any of them, such as a grandchild or nephew. An adopted child is always treated as your own child.
• Age: The child must be under age 19 at the end of the tax year, a full-time student under age 24, or permanently and totally disabled at any age.
• Residency: The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year, though temporary absences for school, vacation, or medical care are permitted.
• Support: The child cannot have provided more than half of their own financial support during the year.
• Joint Return: The child has not filed a joint tax return with a spouse for the tax year, unless it was only to get a refund.

Qualifying Relative

If an individual is not your qualifying child, they might still be your dependent as a qualifying relative. This category has four distinct tests.

• Not a Qualifying Child: The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
• Member of Household or Relationship: They must either live with you all year as a member of your household or be related to you in specific ways, including parents, grandparents, and in-laws, who do not have to live with you.
• Gross Income: The person’s gross income for the year must be less than a specific amount, which for tax year 2024 is $5,050.
• Support: You must provide more than half of the person’s total support for the year. This allows you to claim an elderly parent you support or an unmarried partner who lives with you and meets the other requirements.

Household Definition for Health Insurance

When applying for health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, your household is defined by your tax filing unit. It includes the tax filer, their spouse, and anyone they will claim as a tax dependent, following the IRS rules for a qualifying child or relative.

Your household is based on who you expect to claim on your tax return for the year you are seeking coverage, not who you claimed previously. Life changes like marriage or divorce can alter your household composition. The Marketplace uses this projected household size and income to determine eligibility for premium tax credits.

You should not include people who are not part of your tax household, even if they live with you. For instance, a roommate who files their own tax return is not part of your household, nor is an adult child who lives with you but is not claimed as your tax dependent. The definition follows the tax family unit, not simply the people residing in the same home.

You must include your spouse and tax dependents on your application even if they are not seeking coverage themselves. Children under 21 who live with you and are under your care should be included, even if they are not your tax dependents. Unborn children are not included until after they are born.

Household Definition for Student Financial Aid

For the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), family size is determined by the student’s dependency status. This dictates whose information is reported to calculate the Student Aid Index (SAI), which measures financial strength to determine aid eligibility. These rules differ from the IRS and focus on who provides financial support.

For Dependent Students

If you are a dependent student, you must report your parents’ information on the FAFSA. For parents who file taxes, the family size is based on the number of dependents claimed on their tax return. You can manually update this number if the family size has changed since the taxes were filed.

Your family size includes yourself and your parent(s). If your parents are married or are unmarried and live together, you include both. If your parents are divorced or separated, you report information for the parent who provided more of your financial support over the last 12 months. If this parent has remarried, you must also include your stepparent.

The family size also includes your parents’ other children if your parents provide more than half of their support. It also includes other people who live with your parents and receive more than half of their support from them.

For Independent Students

Independent students do not report parental information on the FAFSA. Your family size includes yourself, your spouse if married, and your children if they receive more than half of their support from you. You would also count other people who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you.