Clarity on Dependent

[wallethappy247]

My son is 20 yrs old and worked a full time job last year. He lives with me and even though he worked I STILL took care of him. He is not a full time college student. Can he be claimed as my dependent still???

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

Since he is older than 18 and not a full time student under the age of 24, if his gross income in 2016 is $4,050 or more then no one can claim him as a dependent.  Those are the Qualifying Relative rules as written in the tax code.

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household. 

3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count) in 2016

4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.

6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.