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My 18 year old son lives with me and was working in 2024, am I able to claim him as a dependent? I still support him.

 
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5 Replies

My 18 year old son lives with me and was working in 2024, am I able to claim him as a dependent? I still support him.

You should be able to claim him as your dependent under the Qualifying Child rules as long as he meets all the requirements.

 

To be a Qualifying Child -

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.
4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.
7. The child must be younger than you unless disabled.

My 18 year old son lives with me and was working in 2024, am I able to claim him as a dependent? I still support him.

MY DEPENDENT HAD A JOB

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, summer job, etc. you do not include the information on your own return. You can still claim your child as a dependent on your own return.  He/she can file his own return for a refund of some of his withheld wages (he won’t get back anything for Social Security or Medicare), but MUST indicate on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.  (Supervise this closely or prepare it for him!)

If your dependent’s earnings were over $400 and were reported on a 1099Misc or 1099NEC then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

 

 

You might also want to use free software from the IRS Free File versions:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

 

 

AT age 18, your child can still be a "qualifying child" dependent.   If he attends college as a full-time student, he may be a qualifying child until the year he turns 24.

 

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

 

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2024 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.

 

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
Vanessa A
Employee Tax Expert

My 18 year old son lives with me and was working in 2024, am I able to claim him as a dependent? I still support him.

It depends.  If he was a full-time student for 5 months out of the year, then yes, you would be able to still claim him as a dependent regardless of how much he earned as long as he did not provide over half of his own support. 

 

If he was NOT a full-time student for 5 months out of the year, then you could possibly claim him as a Qualifying Relative if he earned less than $5,050.  

 

If he was NOT a full -time student and he earned MORE than $5,050, then you would NOT be able to claim him at all as a dependent on your return. 

The following criteria must be met to claim someone as a qualifying child:

  • Your child (including adopted and foster children), your sibling, or a descendent of any of them.
  • Age 18 or younger at the end of the tax year OR under 24 (and younger than you and your spouse) if they are a full-time student
  • Lived with you for more than 6 months during the tax year
  • They did not provide more than half of their own support (social security does not count)
  • They did not file a joint return, unless it was to claim a refund

     

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
  • Has less than $5,050 in income (not counting social security)


     
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My 18 year old son lives with me and was working in 2024, am I able to claim him as a dependent? I still support him.

Yes he was in high school and graduated in June of 2024. So I’m able to claim him as a dependent? I supported him all year and still do.

My 18 year old son lives with me and was working in 2024, am I able to claim him as a dependent? I still support him.


@Candyandbrayden wrote:

Yes he was in high school and graduated in June of 2024. So I’m able to claim him as a dependent? I supported him all year and still do.


Yes, you can claim him as your dependent.

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