My son lived with me all year. He had a job for part of the year. He filed taxes and claimed himself. Do I file and say I have no children?

[danachavez53]

Answers?

[xmasbaby0]

We are missing some important information.   How old was your son at the end of 2023?  Was he a full-time student in 2023?   Did he have more than $4700 of income in 2023--not counting any Social Security?

[Hal_Al]

A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are excluded from the support calculation
3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. What matters is how much he spent on support. Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on himself.

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf

Furthermore, there is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim him as a dependent, he is not allowed to claim himself. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $13,850), he can & should still file taxes. In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.  TT will check that box on form 1040.

Even if he had less, he is allowed to file if he needs to get back income tax withholding. He cannot get back social security or Medicare tax withholding.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/dependents/help/when-do-i-have-to-answer-yes-to-being-claimed-as-a...

With the tax law change, effective 2018, most students will get the same refund whether they claim themselves or not. The personal exemption has been eliminated and the standard deduction increased. However, you only qualify for an education credit or deduction, if you are not a dependent.

If he has already filed one way, he can file an amended return, going the other way.

If he does not meet the age/student status rule for a QC, then there is an income test to be a Qualifying Relative dependent. He must have less than $4700 of income 

See full dependent rules at: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...

[xmasbaby0]

If it turns out that your son made a mistake by saying no one could claim him (this is very common for teens and young adults filing first tax returns)----then you can still claim him, but your own tax return has to be filed by mail.

Further information:

MY DEPENDENT SAID HE COULD NOT BE CLAIMED

Your dependent filed a return without saying he could be claimed on your return and your return was rejected?  AFTER his return has been fully processed and he has received his refund, he has to file an amended return that says he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.  Amended returns must be prepared on a Form 1040X.  It takes the IRS at least four  to six months to process an amended return.

 Meanwhile, since your e-filed return has been rejected, you now have to print and mail it in to the IRS.  You will not be able to e-file. You do not have to wait for your dependent’s amended return to be processed.  Remember that when you mail a return, you need to include copies of your W-2, etc. with your return.  Use a mailing service like certified mail that will track it so you will know that the IRS received it.

For your dependent:

See this TurboTax support FAQ for amending a tax return - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/amend-change-correct-return-a...

When they amend —The dependent needs to go to MY INFO, click their name, and go to the question that asked if they can be claimed as someone else’s dependent.  The answer needs to be YES.