- 1). Write down how long the individual has lived in the house. According to MSN Money Central, a member of a household must live in the household for at least one year or must be on the list of relatives, such as step-children, siblings, half-siblings, aunts, uncles or parents. Newborn babies that are born during the year or those that die in the year are still eligible for that year as a claimed member of the household.
- 2). Consider citizenship. Anyone that is not a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident, Canadian resident or Mexican resident is not claimable as part of the household.
- 3). Find out whether anyone else is claiming taxes. Individuals are not considered members of the household on taxes unless they either are not filing taxes due to not working or they do not make enough money to pay taxes and they are only filing to for a refund.
- 4). Determine whether the individual is supported or not. Full monetary support is a requirement to claim someone as a dependent.
- 5). Count every member living in the house that is related, lived in the house for at least one year, is a citizen or resident and is supported by the individual filing the taxes. This determines the "household" in a house on taxes.