topic young adults in After you file

young adults

Rjenni007 — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:42:00 GMT

My 22 & 24 year old have not moved out yet (and can't afford to) and they are not in college but both are working. They pay for their own car, auto insurance, cell phone, etc. but us as parents, we pay for mortgage, food, electric. Is that considered paying for more than half their living expenses? I'm not sure we can claim them as dependents, even though they depend on us for shelter, food, and water.

Re: young adults

DoninGA — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:44:11 GMT

If they have total income in 2025 of $5,200 or more you cannot claim them as dependents under the Qualifying Relative rules.

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 $5,200 (social security does not count) in 2025
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 with the following exception -
You can claim a person as a dependent who files a joint return if that person and that person’s spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.

Re: young adults

MinhT1 — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:45:46 GMT

If they are not full-time students and earn more than $5,200, you cannot claim them as dependents, even if you help them out financially.

Please read this TurboTax article on Who Can I Claim as a Tax dependent?