My juvenile son filed taxes, but earned little. does that mean i am unable to claim him on my taxes

[NCperson]

@purdyshomerenova - not at all

as long as he is a student, lives with you and you provide more than 50% of his financial support, you can claim him..... 

if he is no longer a student, but still lives with you and earned less than $4300 you can still claim him, 

use this tool to deterime whether he is a dependent or not. it's the official IRS tool:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent

[xmasbaby0]

Hope that your son said on his own return that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.   If he made the very common mistake that teenagers and students often make --and said "no" when he was asked if he can be claimed ---then your e-file claiming him will be rejected.   If that happens, you will have no way to file except by mail.   He will have to amend his return after it has been fully processed, but you do not have to wait for that.   You will have to print, sign and mail your own return and expect it to take at least six months to be processed.  (Sorry).    

So...just in case....

When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s.  Use a mailing service that will track it, such as UPS or certified mail so you will know the IRS/state received the return.

Federal and state returns must be in separate envelopes and they are mailed to different addresses.  Read the mailing instructions that print with your tax return carefully so you mail them to the right addresses.

[Opus 17]

A person must always file a tax return in their own name to report income earned from working.  By itself, this does not change whether or not they can be claimed as a dependent.  For your own child, you can claim your child as a dependent if they lived in your home more than half the year, did not provide more than half their own support, and were either under age 19, or under age 24 while being a full time student.

The child must check "I can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return."  If they failed to do this, your tax return might be rejected by the IRS and you would have to mail it in, and the child should file an amended return to check that box.  For 2021 only, not checking the box will allow the child a $1400 stimulus rebate that is supposed to go to the person who claims them as a dependent, and that has to be paid back.