It depends on how much support the dependent in question provided. You do not actually report their income for the purpose of either credit on your return. But you must factor it in in order to determine if the "dependent" qualifies to be claimed. With the two different credits, there are several possibilities:
- The Child Tax Credit is straightforward. It is a credit of up to $2000 per qualifying child age 16 or under that lives with you for at least half of the year. The only "income requirement" to claim this credit is if the child in question provided at least half of his/her own support or not. If they did not, you will qualify for this credit no matter how much the dependent earns.
- For the Family Tax Credit (or Other Dependent Credit), there are two possibilities. The first is that your child is 17 or older before December 31, 2018, but under 19 if a non-student and under 24 if a student (or any age if completely and totally disabled). In these circumstances, the dependent is too old to qualify for the Child Tax Credit, but will qualify for the Family Tax Credit of up to $500 if, like above, they did not provide at least half of their own support.
- The second possibility is for a potential dependent that is outside of that description. For instance, your son still lives with you, is 20 years old and is not in school. For you to claim him for the Family Tax credit, he will have to have less than $4150 of income and you must provide at least half of his support. Even though he is not in school, and therefore too old to be considered a qualifying child, he will be a qualifying relative under this test.
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