Adult child with disabilities

[tkwilley]

Have a disabled adult child who lives with us, he works 4 hrs a week does he file alone or as a jointly?

[Critter]

If he has earned income he will file his own return ... you cannot add his W-2 on your return.  However he may still be considered your dependent if he qualifies ... 

Who can I claim as my dependent?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2017 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

·         They are related to you.

·         They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.

·         They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

·         They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.

·         They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

o   No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.

·         They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

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 are 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 $4,050 in 2017(not including SS benefits).

·         You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

[Hal_Al]

A dependent cannot file a "joint return" with his parent. A person cannot file a joint return with anyone other than a spouse.
You may have heard of a situation where a child's income can be included on a parent's return (it's still not a "joint return".) That option is not available to dependents who work. It's for kids, under a certain age,  with investment income

[Hal_Al]

 There is also no income limit for a "Qualifying Child" dependent.
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
1. 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
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.
3. 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 you provided is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.
 
Furthermore, there is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim him as a dependent, he is not allowed to claim his own exemption. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $6350), he can & should still file taxes; he just doesn’t get his own $4050 exemption (deduction). In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.  
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.

[avec20]

Can I clam my father as a dependent?

-the only income he has is disability

-will not be filing himself or jointly

-I have paid $500/month of his expenses

-he does not live with me, but I help with rent

Does this qualify? 

[VictoriaD75]

That depends. Parents do not have to live with you as a member of your household all year to claim them as a dependent. However, the person must have gross income of less than $4,200, and you must also provide more than half of their total support. You need to sum the amounts of annual rent, medical, utilities, meals, etc. and determine if your contribution exceeds half of the total cost. If this is the case, you could be entitled to the Credit for Other Dependents, which would reduce your tax liability by $500.

Claiming a Parent as a Dependent

[Hal_Al]

The person must have gross TAXABLE income of less than $4,200.

Nontaxable Social security, including disability,  doesn't count as income, for the income test, but social security money he spends on himself does count as support not provided by you, for the support test. Money he puts into savings & investment does not count as support he spent on herself. Note that a parent is closely related so there is no requirement that he live with you at any time, during the year.

If no one person (or married couple) provides 50% of the support (for example your siblings are also sending support), then a "multiple support agreement” (IRS Form 2120) can be used, to allow you to claim the dependent. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2120.pdf

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 The support value of a home is the fair market rental value, divided by the number of occupants.

[Hal_Al]

Note that the rules for claiming an adult child, with a disability, is different than for claiming a parent. In fact, the parent's disability is irrelevant.  The rules for claiming  a parent are the same, disabled or not.