I am a single mom I have a 5yr old total care of and 19yr old who has worked this year how to file dependents?

[macuser_22]

Is the 19 year old a full time student?  -- And did the 19 year old earn more than $4,050 in 2017?

[jaxster1974]

He is not a student and was not working full time and did not make over 4000 I will be head if household and am a single mother owning my own home

[rjs]

I assume that both the 5-year-old and the 19-year old are your own children. If not, explain the relationships.
I also assume that both the 5-year-old and the 19-year-old are U.S. citizens, that no one else can claim either of them as a dependent, that the 19-year-old is not married, and that no one can claim you as a dependent. If any of these assumptions are incorrect, provide more details.

Based on the preceding assumptions, if you provided more than half of the 19-year-old's support you can claim him as a dependent.

If the 5-year-old lived with you more than half the year, you can claim him or her as a dependent (assuming that the 5-year old did not provide any of his or her own support).

I don't understand what you mean by "total care of" the 5-year-old. Please explain. And if you did not have "total care of" the 19-year-old, what exactly does that mean.

Did anyone besides you, the 5-year-old, and the 19-year-old, live in your home in 2017?

[jaxster1974]

Yes those adsumpti9ns are right
Only if 3 all yr
Not married 19yr old
Total care meant he's with me 365 days 24/7 No visitations with father
19yr old is an adult but doesn't go to school doesn't pay rent and food and loves here year round works part time
We are all US citizens
Thank you

[jaxster1974]

Only us 3*

[rjs · Accepted solution]

Based on the information you have provided in the comments, you can claim both the 5-year-old and the 19-year old as dependents.

If the 19-year-old files a tax return, make sure he indicates that he can be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

[Hal_Al]

It's complicated. 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, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

A child of a taxpayer can still be a qualifying child 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. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.

3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

Because your 19 year old is not a full time student, he can not be a Qualifying Child. So, now there is an income test for him to be a dependent. He can only be your dependent if he has less than $4050 of income.

A person can still be a standard dependent (Qualifying Relative) if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year

2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 (2016-17)

3. The taxpayer 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