A taxpayer cannot claim a dependent unless which tests are met?

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To claim someone as a dependent, you must satisfy several eligibility gates, and you must meet all of them. The first gate, the Citizen or Resident requirement, says the person you want to claim must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. This keeps the dependent within the scope of the U.S. tax system. The second gate, the Joint Return rule, generally prohibits a dependent from filing a joint return with a spouse. There are specific exceptions, but the general idea is to prevent someone who is effectively partnered on another return from being claimed as a dependent. The third gate, the Dependent Taxpayer rule, prevents claiming a person as a dependent if someone else could claim them as a dependent on their own return, avoiding double-dipping. Because each gate covers a different aspect of eligibility, you must pass all three to claim a dependent. If any one of these tests isn’t met, you wouldn’t be allowed to claim that person, even if other conditions would seem favorable.