dependent W-2

[kdalton]

My 16 year old daughter will be getting a job this summer.  It will be part time.  Can I still claim her as a dependent?  Will we just need to do a separate tax return for her earnings?  At what point can I no longer claim her as a dependent?

[KrisD15]

Most likely, yes. 

The income won't matter as long as your daughter does not supply more than half of her own support, which is highly unlikely. 

If she makes more than the filing requirement, she will need to file her own tax return. 

She most likely is your dependent until she reaches 18, or if a student, 24.

According to the IRS:

A person can be claimed as your dependent if they are considered your "Qualifying Child” or if they are considered your "Qualifying Relative” 
Please be aware that “Child” and “Relative” for tax purposes may be different from the true book definition of these words.

To qualify as your Qualifying Child, the person you wish to claim must meet these requirements:

Relationship: Be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-sister or -brother, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or the child of one of these
Age: Be under age 19 or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled
Residency: Live with you for more than half the year, with some exceptions
Support: This person did not supply more than half of their own support 
Joint return: They did not file as Married Filing Jointly unless they only filed that return only to claim a refund of taxes paid or withheld

To qualify as your Qualifying Relative, the person you wish to claim must meet these requirements:

First, determine if the person you want to claim as your Qualifying Relative is a Qualifying Child for you or anyone else. If they are your Qualifying Child, you can claim them as your Qualifying Child Dependent. If they are a Qualifying Child for a different person, you cannot claim them at all.
The person must either had lived with you all the tax year as a member of your household, or be a family relative to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who don't have to live with you,
The person's gross income for the year must have been less than $5,050.
You must have provided more than half of the person's total support for the tax year.
 

[kdalton]

Thanks!  So what will be her filing requirement?  Is it the gross income of $5,050 that is listed?  I realize this might change slightly for 2026.

[KrisD15]

No, 

the 5,050 is a requirement for claiming a dependent as your Qualifying Relative, there is no income limit for claiming a Qualifying Child as your dependent. 

Your daughter, as your dependent, will need to file a return if she has: 

Just EARNED INCOME like from a job of 15,750

Just UNEARNED INCOME like interest or investments 1,350

BOTH EARNED and UNEARNED INCOME the greater of 1,350 or earned income plus 450 (up to 15,750)

It sounds a bit confusing, but only if she has both earned and unearned income, then you need to do a little math, or let TurboTax do the math for you. 

If someone needn't file, TurboTax tells them and they needn't continue the return. 

[kdalton]

But, if she has taxes withheld no matter how much she makes we will want to file to get those back, correct?

[DawnC]

Correct!  Just be sure when she files her return that she marks the box that says Someone else will claim me this year!   This will prevent your return from getting rejected if she files first.