topic Re: Dependent in Deductions & credits

Dependent

Heather121207 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 04:47:35 GMT

My daughter is 21 and is a full time student. She lived at home with me all of 2021 and I supported her by way more than half. She earned income of about $15k in 2021. Can I still claim her? Every time I add her info, it only asks if she made over $4300 and then disqualify her as my dependent. Do I by pass that part?

Re: Dependent

LenaH — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 13:07:40 GMT

It depends. You can claim your daughter as a dependent on your 2021 taxes as long as she meets the following requirements under the below Qualifying child or Qualifying relative rules.

Qualifying child

They're related to you.
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
- No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They lived with you the entire year.
They made less than $4,300 in 2020.
You provided more than half of their financial support.

To revisit the dependent questions, please click My Info on the left-hand side and click Edit next to your daughter's name.

Re: Dependent

Hal_Al — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 13:39:51 GMT

Confirming what LenaH said, she qualifies as your dependent. You've answered something wrong, in the interview. You should not even get the $4300 income question.

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("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 of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

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
He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are excluded from the support calculation
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. What matters is how much he spent on support. 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.

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

Furthermore, there is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim him as a dependent, he is not allowed to claim himself. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $12,550), he can & should still file taxes. In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section. TT will check that box on form 1040.

Even if he had less, he is allowed to file if he needs to get back income tax withholding. He cannot get back social security or Medicare tax withholding.