Q. How can I claim my son, in his 40s, as a dependent?
A. You enter him as a potential dependent, in the personal info section, and then follow the TurboTax (TT) interview to qualify him.
There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related).
A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:
- Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year
- His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4400 (2022).
- The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support
- He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
- He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
- He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer
The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf The support value of a home is the fair market rental value, divided by the number of occupants.
If he was incarcerated for part of 2022, the support provided by the state, for that time, counts against you.
Even if he is a dependent, he can still file a tax return of his own. It was not necessary to get his amount owed to 0, for him to be your dependent.
A separate issue is how his 1099-NEC income should be reported.
