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, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.
3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year
So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. The $4050 income rule doesn't apply. What matters is how much he spent on support. Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on him self.
That said, it's not clear that rule #2 is met. Student loans, that the parent didn't co-sign, are support provided by the student. 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 the home the parents provided is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.
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Even if your parents cannot claim you, they can claim your children. It is legal to do so, but, only if you let them.
A child closely related to a taxpayer can be a
“Qualifying Child (QC)” dependent, regardless of the child's income, if:
1.
He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time
student for at least 5 months of the year, or
is totally & permanently disabled
2.
He did not provide more than 1/2 his own
support
3.
He lived with the relative (including temporary
absences) for more than half the year
4.
He is younger than the relative (not applicable
for a disabled child)
5.
If the
child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you
must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child (this
essentially means that you have the parent’s permission to claim the child, if the child also lived with the parent
more than half the year)
6.
If the parents of a
child can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent so claims the
child, no one else can claim the child as a qualifying child unless that
person's adjusted gross income (AGI) is higher than the highest AGI of any of
the child's parents who can claim the child.
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...
