Your parents can claim your children, if you are not claiming them. They can claim you, only if your taxable income for 2014 was less than $3950. See full rules below.
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. Only a
QC qualifies you for the Earned Income Credit.
A child closely related
to a taxpayer can be a Qualifying Child dependent, regardless of the child's
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. Note that because your are 24, you cannot be their QC
2.
He did not
provide more than 1/2 his own support
3.
He lived with
the relative (or was away at school) for more than half the year
4.
He is younger
than the relative (not applicable for a disabled child)
5.
If the parents of a child can claim the child as a
qualifying child but no parent so claims the child, no one else can claim the
child as a qualifying child unless that person's adjusted gross income (AGI) is
higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the
child.
A person can still be an
other dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6
tests for claiming a dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live
with you ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $3,950 (2014)
3. You must have provided
more than 1/2 his support
In either case:
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada
or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint
return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the
qualifying child of another taxpayer
