If he is the only child you have living at home, meaning he was the qualifying person for you to claim head of household, then he is your dependent and he should mark the box that he can be claimed by you. He can still file a tax return if he worked, but if he lived with you and was under the age of 19, then you can claim him as a dependent.
You can qualify for Head of Household if you:
- Were unmarried as of December 31, 2020, and
- Paid more than half the cost to run your (or a qualifying parent's) home this year (rent, mortgage, utilities, etc.) and
- Supported a qualifying person.
If you can answer yes to the following questions regarding claiming him as a dependent, he cannot file a tax return claiming himself - he would have to mark the box that he can be claimed by someone else, which is you. He can still file a tax return to get some or all of his withholdings back, but he can't say that no one can claim him.
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.
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