topic How much standard deduction does my dependent claim? in Deductions & credits

How much standard deduction does my dependent claim?

az148 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 05:04:34 GMT

My 22 year old son earned around 23k in wages (w2) last year and i claim him as a dependent on my return. How much of a standard deduction should he take? it says the greater of $1100 or earned income + $350, in this case I believe he would just take the standard deduction of $12,550 but i used the IRS calculator and it says he will claim the $1,100 in standard deduction? very confused

Re: How much standard deduction does my dependent claim?

NCperson — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 11:00:13 GMT

@az148 -

his standard deduction is $12,550 - are you doing this by hand? Turbo Tax would figure this out automatically,.

also, unless your son is a full time student, you can NOT claim him. he earned too much money. And, even if he is a full time student, if he provided more than 50% of his own support, you can not claim him either....

Re: How much standard deduction does my dependent claim?

Carl — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 19:27:52 GMT

My 22 year old son earned around 23k in wages (w2) last year

By "last year" I am assuming you mean 2021.

and i claim him as a dependent on my return.

I also assume that your son was a full time student at an accredited institution for at least one semester that started during the 2021 tax year. If he was not a full time student, then you can not claim him as a dependent since his earnings were more than $4,300.

How much of a standard deduction should he take? it says the greater of $1100 or earned income + $350, in this case I believe he would just take the standard deduction of $12,550 but i used the IRS calculator and it says he will claim the $1,100 in standard deduction? very confused

Sounds to me like you entered something incorrectly in the IRS calculator. His standard deduction will be either:

a: $1,100

b: the amount of his earned income, plus $350

c: A maximum of $12,550

WHICHEVER IS GREATER

In his case, since he earned $23,000 the "greater" amount is $12,550. That will be his standard deduction.