My two sons are over 18 and under 26 and attending College full time. I pay for everything . Neither son works and has no income, how do they not quality as a dependent?

[mattp561547]

Why can't I count my sones this year when I could last year. Nothing has changed All support is from me.

[xmasbaby0]

"Under 26" is not the criteria.   Are they under 24?   In order to claim them as qualified children when they are students they must be under 24.   If they are 24 or older, they can only be qualified relatives.

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2025 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

If your dependent was a full-time college student, make sure you were careful on the MY INFO screen for “Uncommon situations” and that you indicated there that they were a student.

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

    Qualifying relative

    • They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
    • 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 lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
    • They made less than $5050 in 2024.   ($5200 for 2025) (Not counting Social Security)
    • You provided more than half of their financial support.

      When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

      Related Information:

      • What does "financially support another person" mean?

[DoninGA]

To be a dependent under the Qualifying Child rules, they must full time students and must be under the age of 24 in 2025.

Go back to My Info on the left side of the online program screen. Edit the dependent and carefully check your answers to the questions.

Make sure you select them as your Child, that you selected that they lived in your home for the Whole Year, temporary absence for education is deemed living in your home.  That they did NOT provided over one-half of their own support (You Did), that you indicated there was no one else in the household providing support to them, and that you did NOT check the box labeled Not valid for employment in the Social Security number section.

If all your answers are correct then delete them as a dependent and re-enter.