@melissaalford111 wrote:
Thank you! Yes, I included his income in the AGI but he was not covered under my healthcare plan. The way it read I thought I had to include him regardless. When I did that I ended up paying taxes instead of receiving a refund. He filed his own taxes.
No. You may want to file an amended return (or, if you have not filed yet, correct the error and make sure you understand all the prior answers before filing.)
1. You are never required to claim a dependent.
2. If a person (your child) qualifies to be claimed as a dependent, that person must answer "Yes, I can be claimed as a dependent", even if they don't want to be claimed and even if the person who could claim them, won't claim them.
3. A dependent's income earned from working is never included on a parent's tax return in any form (at the federal level).
3a. Note that there may be state credits based on the income of all the people in the "household", and your child's income might be includable for figuring the credit even though it is not part of your taxable income for income taxes.
3b. The only time a parent might include a child's income on the parent's return is if the child is under 18, or under 24 and a full time student, and their only income is interest and dividends from investments. If the child has any other kind of income (working, prizes, scholarships, capital gains) then all the child's income is reported on a return in the child's name only.)
4. You may qualify for an education credit if you claim your child as a dependent and enter their 1098-T on your tax return. Children under age 24 can't get this credit unless they are living independently with an income over $20,000 or they are orphans.
5. Your son's income does not count as part of your income for the affordable care act subsidy.
