@jcav1 wrote:
If my son was 20 years old at the end of 2019, but only took 2 classes (6 units) at a local community college in the fall, and only earned ~$1,500 for the year (W-2) income, how does this need to be reported?
Since his income is less than $4,200 you should be able to claim him as a dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules if he meets all the requirements.
You do not enter his earned income on your tax return.
He does not need to file a tax return since his earned income is less than the minimum required to file. However, if there were income taxes withheld from his wages he should file a return to get a tax refund for the taxes withheld. If he does file a return make sure that he indicates on his tax return that he can be claimed as a dependent.
To be a Qualifying Relative -
1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,200 (social security does not count) in 2019
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.
