topic 19 year old dependent?? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

19 year old dependent??

OllieMomma — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:58:37 GMT

Son graduated online high school in March. Went to boot camp in April. Turned 19 in June. Can I still claim him as a dependent. When I filled out my taxes it automatically approved him, but I’m not so sure.

Re: 19 year old dependent??

Bsch4477 — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:31:14 GMT

If he was in the military since April he provided more than half of his support for the year and you can’t claim him.

Re: 19 year old dependent??

OllieMomma — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 13:10:41 GMT

He was only at boot camp for 6 months and made $14,200

Re: 19 year old dependent??

Opus 17 — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 13:14:55 GMT

@OllieMomma wrote:

He was only at boot camp for 6 months and made $14,200

First, he was not a full time student for part of 5 months or more. (Like a senior who graduates in May or June.) He was only a full time student for 3 months. Boot Camp is not considered school.

Second, for the support test, you have to include the value of housing, food, medical care, transportation, and other personal expenses along with his salary. These are all types of support he provided to himself, by means of his military service.

His income disqualifies him from being a "qualifying relative" dependent, and the full time school and support tests disqualify him from being a "qualifying child" dependent.

Re: 19 year old dependent??

Vanessa A — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 13:16:19 GMT

If he is not a full time student, then even though he was home with you, he made more than $4,700 so he no longer qualifies as your dependent.

The following criteria must be met to claim someone as a qualifying child:

Your child (including adopted and foster children), your sibling, or a descendent of any of them.
Age 18 or younger at the end of the tax year OR under 24 (and younger than you and your spouse) if they are a full-time student
Lived with you for more than 6 months during the tax year
They did not provide more than half of their own support
They did not file a joint return, unless it was to claim a refund

To claim someone as a Qualifying Relative, they must be:

Your child ( including step children, adoptive children and foster children) or a descendent of them
Your sibling (including half siblings) or a child of your sibling or a sibling-in-law
Your parent or grandparents, including step parents and in laws
Any other person that lived with you for the entire tax year
Not a qualifying child of another taxpayer
Someone that you provided over half of their support for during the tax year
Has less than $4,700 in income (not counting social security)