Can I claim my 17 year old that earned $8000 at her job as a dependent?

[elofreak-76]

Or does she file her own taxes? Or both?

[MinhT · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can claim your 17-year-old as a dependent if she did not provide more than half of her own support in 2018.

If your dependent child has income in 2018, you do not report your child's income on your tax return. 

The following instructions are for your dependent child who has to file her own tax return:

You have to indicate in the My Info section of TurboTax that you are claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer.

You may wish to use this version of TurboTax:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/

Edited 01.27.2019 | 10:19 AM

[Hal_Al]

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("" 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, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit.

The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the dependent's  support.
The support test for a Qualifying Child is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. That may  sound like a subtle difference, but for some families it's vital

[Hal_Al]

Yes, you can still claim her as a 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. 

3. He lived with the parent 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, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

You do not report his/her income on your return. If it has to be reported, at all, it goes on his own return. If your dependent child is under age 19 (or under 24 if a full time student), he or she must file a tax return for 2017 if he had any of the following:

1.         Total income (wages, salaries, taxable scholarship etc.) of more than $12,000 (starting in 2018, $6350 in 2017).

2.         Unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains) of more than $1050.

3.         Unearned income over $350 and gross income of more than $1050

4.         Household employee income (e.g. baby sitting, lawn mowing) over $2100 ($12.000 if under age 18)

5.         Other self employment income over $400, including box 7 of a 1099-MISC

 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.

In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.