Claiming a child as a dependent generally requires that
- they live with you for more than half the year
- they don't provide more than half of their own financial support
- and are under the age of 19, or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age and totally and permanently disabled
IRS Publication 4012 provides a worksheet for determining support. If your son lives with just you and not with your sister / brother-in-law, and doesn't provide more than half of his own support, then you are the only one who can claim him as a dependent. If he lives with your sister instead, then she can claim him if he doesn't provide over half of his own support.
Adult children can be claimed as dependents but will have to meet the gross income test unless they are totally and permanently disabled. Gross income is the total of a taxpayer's unearned and earned income. If their gross income was $5,050 or more, you can't claim them as a dependent unless they are disabled.
For the IRS to consider your dependent to be "disabled," your child must have a disability that meets one of the following criteria. The disability must have lasted continuously for at least one year. It will last continuously for at least one year. The disability can lead to death. To prove your child's disability, get a letter from their doctor, healthcare provider or any social service program or agency that can verify their disability.
If this is still the situation after he turns 24, he can still be considered a qualifying child for purposes of the Child Tax Credit. The IRS defines a dependent as a qualifying child (under age 19 or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled) or a qualifying relative.
See this TurboTax tips article for more information on claiming dependents.
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