I have a 23 year old son who lives on his own, went to college part-time and has income, can I claim him as a dependent

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

Probably not.

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 .

Your son cannot be a QC because he did not live with you and is not a full time time student.

So, he can only be your dependent if he had less than $4050 of income for the year.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FULL RULES

A person can still be a standard dependent ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related), 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