One dependant made under 2000 can I file still?

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

Just because a dependent has income does not necessarily mean that you cannot claim them as a dependent on your tax return.  If you do claim someone as a dependent on your tax return and they are filing a tax return then they must indicate on their tax return that they can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return.

If the dependent is your child under the age of 19 or a full time student under the age of 24 then you can claim them as a dependent under the Qualifying Child rules, provided that they meet all the requirements under the rules.

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.

Otherwise you can claim someone as a dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules if they meet all the requirements under the rules.

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household. 

3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count) in 2017

4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.

6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

[vample121916]

Hi. Im sorry I worded the question wrong. I myself made under 2000 and my child is 1 . I wanted to know if I could file ? This would be my first time filing my own taxes with my child.

[SweetieJean]

Are you married? Any other household, income?  With whom do you live?

[VolvoGirl]

Will you get a W2 for your income or a 1099Misc (or just cash)?  If you are single and get a W2 you don't have to file except to get back any federal withholding taken out plus any refundable credits you qualify for.  If you get cash or a 1099Misc you do need to file and pay self employment tax on it.

[SweetieJean]

"This would be my first time filing my own taxes with my child".
I think OP is asking about EIC and ACTC. That's why I asked the questions that I did.

[vample121916]

I am not married. I live with my mother.

[Hal_Al]

The money you hear about people getting for just filing a tax return claiming kids requires you to  have some earned income (wages or self employment). Without earned income, you are not eligible for the "refundable" Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit. If your $2000 of income is from working, you can file and will get about $700 from the IRS for doing so.

But, for tax purposes, a child is the "Qualifying Child" of any close relative he lives with,  not just his parent. For example, if you and your children live with your parents, you can allow  them to claim your child, instead of you. Furthermore, if you qualify to be  the dependent of another taxpayer (e.g. your parent) that will may prevent you from being able to claim a child on your own tax return

[SweetieJean]

Then it is more likely that your Mother can claim both you and the baby.

[Hal_Al]

$2000 of income would not disqualify someone from being a dependent.

You didn't ask, but you do NOT report your dependent's income on your tax return*. If it has to be reported at all, it goes on his own return.

Your next question might be: does my dependent need to file a tax return? Probably not, but it depends on the source of his income. If your dependent child is under age 19 (or under 24 if a full time student), he or she must file a tax return for 2016 if he had any of the following:
1. Total income (wages, salaries, taxable scholarship etc.) of more than $6,350 (2017).
2. Unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains) of more than $1050 (2017).
3. Unearned income over $350 and gross income of more than $1050
4. Household employee income (e.g. baby sitting, lawn mowing) over $2000 ($6350 if under age 18)
5. Other self employment income over $400, including box 7 of a 1099-MISC

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.
 He doesn’t get his own $4050 exemption (deduction), when he files. In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.

*If his only income is from interest and dividends, Alaska PFD or capital gains distributions shown on a 1099-DIV, there is a provision for entering it on your return, using form 8814. Enter at Less common income / Child's income.
But, it is usually best for him to file a separate return, as qualified dividends and capital gain distributions could be taxed at a higher rate on the parent's return.

[ho1]

The problem is that on the dependent return he did not indicate that he was a dependent on the parents return. Could this be corrected on his return?

[GeorgeM777]

Yes, the dependent can amend their return to reflect that they can be claimed as a dependent on the parents' return.  The dependent's standard deduction will change as a result.  Given that the original posts were entered in 2019, for both 2019 and 2020, the standard deduction for dependents was the larger of $1,100 or the sum of the dependent's earned income plus $350.

@ho1