topic Adult Working Child as a Dependent, that did not go to school in Deductions & credits

Adult Working Child as a Dependent, that did not go to school

RitaModicue76 — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 20:29:46 GMT

My 20 year old son still stays at home with me but he is working. This year working he made $22,000. He has already filed by himself, but I was trying to see can I still use him as a dependent?

Re: Adult Working Child as a Dependent, that did not go to school

Vanessa A — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 20:31:37 GMT

No. If he was not a full time student, and made more than $5,050 he no longer qualifies as a dependent on your return.

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 $5,050 in income (not counting social security)

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 (social security does not count)
They did not file a joint return, unless it was to claim a refund

Re: Adult Working Child as a Dependent, that did not go to school

Hal_Al — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 21:00:25 GMT

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 and student status test, a relationship test and a residence test.

Since he was not a student, he can't be a QC. So, there is a $5050 income limit for a Qualifying Relative, so he can't be a Qualifying Relative, either.