Hi, my 19 year old son, student, who lives with me, wants to file separately for 2023. Can I still file as Head of Household or him as dependent?

[sfar463686]

He registered an one-man-show media company, which he really doesn't make money yet. Of course I pay for all of his expenses etc.

[xmasbaby0]

If your 19 year old is a full-time student then he can still be claimed as a qualified child dependent.   Was he a full-time student in 2023?   He can file his own tax return but must say on his own return in My Info  that he can be claimed as someone else's dependent.    If you have a qualified dependent (son) then you can file as HOH.    Or......even if he was not a full-time student -- if he had less than $4700 of income, he can be a "qualified relative" dependent.

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2023 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 $4,700 in 2023.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Related Information:

• What does "financially support another person" mean?
• What is a "qualifying person" for Head of Household?

[Vanessa A]

If your son has earned income, he would need to file separately from you.  You cannot include his earned income on your return. If he earned more than $400 as a self-employed individual, he would need to file a return as he is then subject to self-employment taxes. 

As to whether or not you can still claim him and file as Head of Household would depend on how much he makes.  If he made more than $4,700, and is NOT a student, then you would not be able to claim him as a dependent.  If he makes less than $4,700 or is a student, then you would be able to claim him as a dependent.

If he does meet the criteria to be a qualifying relative, then you would be able to claim the $500 Non-Refundable Other Dependent Credit as well as file as Head of Household. 

To claim someone as a Qualifying Relative, they must be:

• Your child ( including step children, adoptive children and foster children) or a descendent of them
• Your sibling (including half siblings) or a child of your sibling or a sibling-in-law
• Your parent or grandparents, including step parents and in laws
• Any other person that lived with you for the entire tax year
• Not a qualifying child of another taxpayer
• Someone that you provided over half of their support for during the tax year

[sfar463686]

Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes, he was a full-time student in 2023.

A expert on this community mentioned that my son needs to note in his filing "My info", that he is claimed by someone as Dependent!

[sfar463686]

Thanks a lot for your advice and help.

Yes, my son was a full-time student in 2023.

By being able to claim him as my Dependent (I as HOH), I might save a lot in paying back!

(Do I need to note, somewhere, in my return filing with Turbotax, that my son / dependent is filing / files separately?) -Regards,

[Hal_Al]

Q. Can I still file as Head of Household or him as dependent?

A. Yes, you can and should do both.

There is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim him as a dependent, he is not allowed to claim himself. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $13,850), he can & should still file taxes. In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.  TT will check that box on form 1040.

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.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/dependents/help/when-do-i-have-to-answer-yes-to-being-claimed-as-a...

With the tax law change, effective 2018, most students will get the same refund whether they claim themselves or not. The personal exemption has been eliminated and the standard deduction increased. However, you only qualify for an education credit or deduction, if you are not a dependent.

[Hal_Al]

Q. (Do I need to note, somewhere, in my return filing with Turbotax, that my son / dependent is filing / files separately?) 

A. No.  He needs to mark it/note it on his return. He checks a simple box near the top of the 1040. TT does this for him.

[sfar463686]

Sorry about my uneducated questions/statements: It means even that my son was a full-time student in 2023, he is not supposed to have earning more than S13850 in order that I can claim as HOH and him, as my dependent? In other words, he needs to have these both criteria, so I can claim him as Dependent/HOH, or being a full-time student in 2023 overwrites the $13850 limit!?

[sfar463686]

Sounds great, thanks!

[Hal_Al]

Q.  Or does  being a full-time student, under 24, in 2023 overwrites the $13850 limit!?

A. Simple answer: Yes.

Q. It means even though my son was a full-time student in 2023, he is not supposed to have earning more than S13850 in order that I can claim as HOH and him, as my dependent? In other words, he needs to have these both criteria, so I can claim him as Dependent/HOH?

A. No, that's just not a true statement for either dependency or HOH. 

For HOH, it only matters that you have a closely related dependent that lives with you in a home that you provide (pay more than half the cost). 

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("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, student status, relationship test and residence test.  The income limit for a Qualifying Relative is only $4700.  The $13,850 has nothing to do with dependency or HOH, it's only a filing requirement for regular people. A dependent's filing requirement is more complicated.  See below the line if you interested in the details.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

You do not report his/her income on your return. If it has to be reported, at all, it goes on his own return. A sependent must file a tax return for 2023 if he had any of the following:

1.          Total income (wages, salaries, taxable scholarship etc.) of more than $13,850 (2023).
2.          Unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains, unemployment, taxable portion of 529 distribution) of more than $1250 (2023)
3.          Unearned income over $400 and gross income of more than $1250 (2023)
4.          Household employee income (e.g. baby sitting, lawn mowing) over $2600 ($13,850 if under age 18)
5.          Other self employment income over $432, including money on a form 1099-NEC
6.          Gross income was at least $5 and his spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions

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.

[sfar463686]

Thank you all again for the explanation. I think I would be fine.

This is a great service provided by Turbotax! I will for sure use the Turbotax!