My adult child (student) lives with me and I cover his expenses, but TurboTax is telling me I can't claim him as a dependent because he makes more than $5050 at his job

[cwa107]

I pay his tuition and all living expenses. He did not claim himself on his own return. He made a grand total of $14K, which is not even close to enough to cover his expenses. Does this seem right?

[MindyB · Accepted solution]

It depends on how old your adult child is. ‌If he's under 24, he can make any amount and still be your dependent based on the facts you describe.

However, if he is 24 or older, he cannot be a dependent whether or not he is a student because his income exceeds the threshold of $5,050 for 2024.

If he is under 24 and you aren't able to claim him, revisit the entry in the "My Info, Your household" section. Make sure all the interview screens have been completed accurately: 

• Navigate to My Info, Your household, select your son
• Choose "My child", continue and be sure his name, date of birth and proper citizenship is complete. 
• Continue, and answer the question about living arrangements and parents. 
• Continue, and answer any less common situations. Here, make sure "was a full-time student in 2024" is checked.
• Lastly, enter the child's SSN and be sure that "Not valid for employment is printed..." is NOT checked. 

Also, he will not qualify for the child tax credit, but he may qualify for the $500 credit for other dependents, if he is a dependent.

Here is some more detailed information: Rules for Claiming Dependents on Taxes

[cwa107]

That was it - I missed the checkbox to indicate he was a full-time student in 2024. Thank you so much for taking the time to review and provide the solution.