Filing for my 18 yr old

[Kachikaadams]

Am I able to claim my 18 year old as a dependent when I file next year? He works full-time since July. Or should he file on his own?

[xmasbaby0]

Was your 18 year old a full-time student (even in high school) for at least five months in 2022?   If so, you can claim him as a qualifying child dependent, no matter how much he earned.  If he is a full-time college student you will be able to continue to claim him until the tax year in which he turns 24.

MY DEPENDENT HAD A JOB

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, summer job, etc. you do not include the information on your own return. You can still claim your child as a dependent on your own return.  He/she can file his own return for a refund of some of his withheld wages (he won’t get back anything for Social Security or Medicare), but MUST indicate on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.  (Supervise this closely or prepare it for him!)

If your dependent’s earnings were over $400 and were reported on a 1099Misc or 1099NEC then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

You might also want to use free software from the IRS Free File versions:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2022 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They're related to you.
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
• They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

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're 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 (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,400 in 20222.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

[DoninGA]

If he is under the age of 19 then you can claim him as your dependent under the Qualifying Child rules if he meets all the requirements under the rules.

If we worked for an employer and receives a W-2 and his wages were less than $12,950 he would need to file a tax return if taxes were withheld from his wages to get a tax refund.

If he was self-employed and had income of $400 or more he must file a tax return to report his self-employment income and expenses.  In either case he must indicate on his tax return that he can be claimed as a dependent.

To be a Qualifying Child -

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.
4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.
7. The child must be younger than you unless disabled.

[Bsch4477]

You can claim him if he doesn’t provide more than half of his own support.  He should file his own return and if you can claim him make sure that he checks the box saying that someone else can claim him. 

[Kachikaadams]

He just graduated in June this year. He is not in college, lives with me. So I can claim him for 2022 but not after he turns 19 in March of 2023?

[DoninGA]

@Kachikaadams  For tax year 2023 if he is a full time student under the age of 24 you can still claim him as a dependent under the Qualifying Child rules if he meets all the requirements.

If he is Not a full time student in tax year 2023 then you can claim him as a dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules if he meets the requirements under the rules.

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 $4,700 (social security does not count) in 2023
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.