Was he a student in 2020? If your son is a full-time student you can claim him as a dependent to age 24. Please review the criteria for claiming a dependent:
WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?
You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:
Qualifying child
• They are related to you.
• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
Qualifying relative
• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year.
• They made less than $4200 (not counting Social Security)
• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info
When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.
Related Information:
• Does a dependent have to live with me?
• What does "financially support another person" mean?
This means if your son has his own income and files a tax return he MUST say on his return that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return. And if he is a dependent on your tax return, the education credits go on YOUR tax return. Dependents cannot get education credits.
There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test.
The support test is different for each type. The support test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.
Since your son will be over 19, at year end, he must have been a full time student for at least 5 months to be a QC. His income must be less than $4200, for him to be a standard dependent ("Qualifying Relative").
Did your son graduate high school in 2020? If yes, then the below statement is true.
- Was a full time student for any one semester that started in the tax year.
If he graduated high school on or after May 1, 2020 then he meets the 5 month minimum enrollment requirement for the 2020 tax year.