I didn't claim my son last year but was told I still could even if he is 19

[Opus 17]

If your son was 19 on December 31 of whichever tax year you are asking about, then to claim him as a dependent, he must meet one of these two tests:

1. Be a full time student for at least part of 5 months of the year (a graduating high school senior would count as a full time student); AND lived with you more than half the year, or was considered temporarily away at school and would have lived with you if not at school; AND did not earn more than half his own support. 
2. Earned less than $4200 of taxable income, AND you provided more than half his total financial support.  (For this test he does not have to be a student or live with you.)

If you find your son did qualify to be claimed as a dependent, you can file an amended return to claim him for that year. 

[SusanY1]

You can claim your son at age 19 if he was a full-time student for at least 5 months during the year or if you provided more than half of his support and he met the income test. For 2019 that would mean that earned less than $4,050.   For assistance determining if he meets the criteria as a dependent, see this link: Interactive Tax Assistance: Dependents.

If you need to add him to your return, you can do so by amending the return by filing Form 1040X.  To file an amended return for 2019, log into TurboTax.com  and selecting the option "I need to amend a return that has already been filed and accepted." 

1. Click on this link to download the correct version of our free amendment software TurboTax 2018 Amendment Software.
2. Install the TurboTax 2018 software on your computer.
3. Sign into your return at TurboTax.com with the user ID and password used to file your 2018 tax return.
4. Look for Your tax returns and documents and click Show
5. Select Download .tax file.  Save this file to a folder where you can easily find it. 
6. Launch the TurboTax program.  If it doesn't automatically detect your file click on File and then Open Tax Return and then navigate to the folder where you saved your .tax file to select it. 

Now that you have the tax return double-check that it is exactly the same as the return that you filed before proceeding. 

1. As a best practice, save a copy of your tax file.  Use the Save As command (Duplicate if using a Mac) to create a new file with a unique name such as  My 2018 Tax Return Amendment.
2. Follow the instructions on the screen to begin the amendment process.
3. Add the missing student loan interest.
4. Proceed to the Review tab to review the return.
5. Print the return and mail it to the address that prints with the return. 

Note that amended tax returns can only be filed by mail and may take 12-16 weeks to process.  Approximately three weeks after you mail your return, you can track the status on the IRS website here: Where's My Amended Return?

If you are referring to your 2018 tax return, here are the instructions to amend that return:

[Opus 17]

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@SusanY1 wrote:

You can claim your son at age 19 if he was a full-time student for at least 5 months during the year or if you provided more than half of his support and he met the income test. For 2019 that would mean that earned less than $4,050.   For assistance determining if he meets the criteria as a dependent, see this link: Interactive Tax Assistance: Dependents.

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Hi Susan.

For 2019, the income limit for Qualifying Relative is $4200.

Cheers.