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New Member
posted Jun 7, 2019 3:33:35 PM

Can i clame some one over the age of 18 as a dependent?

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1 Best answer
New Member
Jun 7, 2019 3:33:38 PM

You can claim someone older than 18 as a dependent if you meet the requirement of the law.

If the individual is your child, you can claim them if they are a full-time college student and they do not provide more than half of their own support.

If the individual is not your child (or if they are your child and they aren’t a college student) the following must apply: (From IRS Publication 501:(

  • They do not qualify as a qualifying child dependent (if the 18 year-old is a college, this may be an issue for anyone other than a parent).

  • They are either related to you (in one the following relationships) or they live with you the entire year.

    • Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)

    • Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.

    • Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.

    • Your stepfather or stepmother.

    • A son or daughter of your brother or sister.

    • A son or daughter of your half brother or half sister.

    • A brother or sister of your father or mother.

    • Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.

    • Any of these relationships that were established by marriage aren't ended by death or divorce.

  • They made less than 4,050 dollars for the year.

  • You provided more than half of their support.

19 Replies
New Member
Jun 7, 2019 3:33:37 PM

I claimed my son last year because I supported him.  He lived in my home.  For 2018 I supported him until he got a job 3 months ago.  He did not even make $5,000.  Can I still claim him?

New Member
Jun 7, 2019 3:33:38 PM

You can claim someone older than 18 as a dependent if you meet the requirement of the law.

If the individual is your child, you can claim them if they are a full-time college student and they do not provide more than half of their own support.

If the individual is not your child (or if they are your child and they aren’t a college student) the following must apply: (From IRS Publication 501:(

  • They do not qualify as a qualifying child dependent (if the 18 year-old is a college, this may be an issue for anyone other than a parent).

  • They are either related to you (in one the following relationships) or they live with you the entire year.

    • Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)

    • Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.

    • Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.

    • Your stepfather or stepmother.

    • A son or daughter of your brother or sister.

    • A son or daughter of your half brother or half sister.

    • A brother or sister of your father or mother.

    • Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.

    • Any of these relationships that were established by marriage aren't ended by death or divorce.

  • They made less than 4,050 dollars for the year.

  • You provided more than half of their support.

New Member
Jun 7, 2019 3:33:38 PM

Very helpful and polite

New Member
Oct 29, 2019 6:58:47 AM

How do you determine "more than half of his/her support" for tax purposes? If the child has a job, but lives at home and only pays a portion of his bills (car note and insurance) but no rent or food expenses, would that qualify? Would I need to keep receipts for every piece of food, every gas fill-up, every month that he lives in his room and uses gas, electricity, and water?

Level 15
Oct 29, 2019 1:54:05 PM

@elderdxc  -- It's more than a little tedious, but the IRS has a worksheet for making that determination.  Here's  link to it: https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf

Level 15
Oct 30, 2019 6:07:32 AM

Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on him self.

 

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

New Member
Nov 16, 2019 10:47:36 AM

My child whom is 30 and doesn't work (unabled) can I claim her for 2017 and 2018?

Level 15
Nov 16, 2019 11:57:10 AM

@lgreenhill  - 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. 

Your 30 year old child can still be a QC if he has been diagnosed as disabled. Otherwise,  he may qualify under the qualifying relative rules, which means you must be supporting him and he has very little income.  

 

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

A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

  1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year (not even one night at the non-custodial parent’s home).
  2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4150 ($4,050 in 2017)
  3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

  1. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
  2. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
  3. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

if you filed for 2017 and 2018, without claiming him, you can file amended returns for those years to claim him now.  

How to amend https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381-how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed

Not applicable
Apr 11, 2020 7:22:24 AM

Can I claim my son who is 23 but did not attend college in 2019 But I provided over half of his living support

Level 15
Apr 11, 2020 7:28:56 AM

@Anonymous 

Simple answer: no. But, yes, if his gross taxable income is less than $4200.

 

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)*. 

 

Your son is too old to be a QC. A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

  1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year  
  2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4200 ($4150 in 2018)
  3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

  1. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
  2. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
  3. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

*There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and a residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit . The Other dependent (qualifying relative) credit is worth (up to) $500 per dependent and is non-refundable.  That is, it can only be used to reduce an actual tax liability.

 

Expert Alumni
Apr 11, 2020 7:29:07 AM

It depends.  If you son's gross income was less than $4,200 he meets the definition of a Qualifying Relative, and can be included as dependent on your tax return.

 

See Table 5 from IRS Publication 501 at this link for more information.

New Member
Jun 2, 2020 8:40:07 PM

Does this also apply if 19 yr old lives in an apartment and not at home?

He will make less than $4000.  I'm paying his share of his apartment rent each month beginning June 1.

Level 15
Jun 3, 2020 4:31:52 AM

@Bkyer 

You appear to be asking about 2020, rather than 2019.  It appears that the answer will depend on the support rule. 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 

 

Bur if makes more than $4200, you can't claim him, if he is not a full time student.  See full rules above

New Member
Mar 14, 2021 12:59:17 PM

My daughter is 28 and is on disability and on SSI and has lived with me always but what she gets on SSI $529 a month and food stamps for her and her child I pay for most everything for them. Can I claim them on my taxes?

New Member
Mar 14, 2021 1:08:54 PM

SSI is not taxable I don't think so she doesn't has to file because she has never worked so does it count as gross taxable income?

Level 1
Mar 14, 2021 1:14:59 PM

Yes, you can claim your adult daughter  and your grandson as your dependents, if your daughter's only income was SSI and you paid more that half of their support and can show the income on your tax return. 

 

Level 15
Mar 14, 2021 1:35:14 PM

Q. Can I claim them on my taxes?

A. Simple answer: you can claim both of them on your tax return.

 

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, student status, a relationship test and residence test.

A child (or grand child if not claimed by the parent) 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 (regardless of age)
  2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support*. SSI (supplemental security Income) is considered third party support and not support provided by the child.  Food stamps are also 3rd party support.  SSDI (social security disability income)  reported on a form SSA-1099 is considered the child's own support. 
  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 income she had. What matters is how much she spent on support. Money she put into savings does not count as support she spent on herself.

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

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 test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.

New Member
Apr 7, 2021 5:33:47 PM

My daughter lived with me for 10 months in 2020.  She lived in Colorado for 2 months in 2020 and made around $6400.00 and her employer did not take any withholding from her salary.  Can I claim her as a dependent on my income tax report for 2020?

Expert Alumni
Apr 7, 2021 5:47:30 PM

It depends on how old she is. – She must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year. 

 

If she doesn't meet this standard, she would not qualify because the income threshold amount for a qualifying relative is $4300. Her earned income exceeds this value. Please review this IRS link for more details.