Lawyer sues IRS in effort to classify pets as dependents

97 percent of Americans consider their pet part of the family. Our pets need food, shelter, health care and other things just to live.

A lawyer decided pets fit the IRS criteria to qualify as a “dependent” and is suing the IRS to make that happen. The attorney says her 8-year-old golden retriever has no independent income, resides exclusively with her and has annual expenses exceeding $5,000. That satisfies the IRS intent of “dependency,” except being human. At the moment, pets are considered property and are not eligible for dependency. It’s unlikely anything will come of this, as it’s not clear whether or not any court even has standing to take the case, and IRS codes are not eligible to be challenged in court.

So far, it hasn’t been dismissed, so at least for now, it’s still alive.