topic Qualifying Dependent Child Turned 24 in June 2025 in Education

Qualifying Dependent Child Turned 24 in June 2025

user17672421920 — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 04:56:48 GMT

Getting a jump start on my 2025 taxes and Turbo Tax is not allowing me to qualify my daughter as a dependent when it asks, "Let us know if she made $5200 or more in 2025". As soon as I state yes, it states she is not a dependent and forces me to file single. My daughter is a full time student, I do provide more than half her support, she lived with me the entire year in the US and was 23 years old from January - June (6 months) before turning 24.

It looks like this error happened last year, but I am confused on why it has not been resolved. I read that if your child is in school full time, and is under the age of 24 for at least five months they qualify as a dependent.

Please help me understand this. Also if it helps, I have provided the questions it asks along with the answers I put:

What's Your Relationship to (Childs Name)?
- My Child (includes adopted, foster and stepchildren)
Tell us about your child
- Name
  - Name
- Birth Date
  - DOB
- Citizenship Status
  - US Citizen
- This is my
  - Daughter
- The child is Adopted, Foster Child, None of the Above
  - None of the Above
How many months did (Child name) live with you in 2025?
Claiming (Childs name) as a dependent involves counting each month she lived with you in 2025.
- The Whole Year
How many of those were in the US?
- The Whole Year
Did any of these apply to (Childs Name)? Disabled, Passed Away in 2025, None of these apply
- None of these apply
(Childs Name) Marital Status. Was (childs name) married as of December 31, 2025?
- No
Did (Childs Name) make $5200 or More Last Year? Let us know if she made $5200 or more in 2025.
- Yes, (Childs Name) made $5200 or more last year.
About (Childs Name) Dependent Status
- It turns out (Childs Name) doesn't qualify as your dependent.

Re: Qualifying Dependent Child Turned 24 in June 2025

xmasbaby0 — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 05:24:32 GMT

Since your daughter turned 24 in 2025 she cannot be a qualifying child dependent for tax year 2025, even if she was a student---she is too old. She can still be a qualifying relative dependent for the $500 credit for other dependents if she had less than $5200 of income not counting any Social Security in 2025.

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 (exceptions apply).
They made less than $5200 in 2025 (not counting Social Security)
You provided more than half of their financial support.
When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Related Information:
- What does "financially support another person" mean?
- What is a "qualifying person" for Head of Household?
  
  IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:
  
  https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

Re: Qualifying Dependent Child Turned 24 in June 2025

Hal_Al — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:06:40 GMT

"if your child is in school full time, and is under the age of 24 for at least five months" is misstated.

It should read if your child is in school full time, for at least five months, and is under the age of 24 (at the end of the year), they qualify as a qualifying child dependent. dependent.

The five month rule applies only to being a full time student, not the student's age. The student must be under 24 the whole year.