Item 14 - Household Residents who cannot be claimed as dependents of the applicant for IRS purposes

The Homeowners' Tax Credit law requires the applicant to report the gross income of all persons residing in the home unless those persons are paying room and board or are dependents [Section 9-104(a)(3)]. Dependents include all persons treated as such by the federal Internal Revenue laws. In addition, regulations have been promulgated by the Department stating that "dependent" persons shall include:

1. A person under 18 years old for whom the applicant receives Social Security or Veterans Administration benefits or divorce decree support payments;
2. A person under 22 years old who is continuing his education on a full-time basis and for whom the applicant is receiving Social Security or Veterans Administration survivor's benefits;
3. A person of any age found to be mentally retarded and for whom an applicant receives Social Security disability payments;
4. A person under 18 years old for whom an applicant receives public assistance grants.

An applicant who claims a person as a dependent under the special cases cited above, but who does not file a federal income tax return, may be required to submit verification of the dependency status to the Department in the form of a sworn affidavit [See COMAR 18.07.01.02(D)(1) & (2)].