Can I claim my 20 year old son as a dependent when he is away at college? I still support him financially.

[Mmarie2816]

My son is at an out of state college and we send money to support him. Until recently, his only source of income was from gigs and he hasn't made enough to file taxes. Can I claim him as a dependent? He is only 20 years old.

[xmasbaby0]

Yes, a 20 year old full-time student can be claimed as a qualifying child dependent.   Living away at school is a "temporary absence" so you can say he lived with you all year and claim him as a dependent.  You are the one who can use the education credit on your own return, too.

You say he had income from "gigs"----do you mean he had self-employment income?  If so, he needs to file a tax return if he earned even $400 and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

MY DEPENDENT HAD A JOB

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, summer job, etc. you do not include the information on your own return. You can still claim your child as a dependent on your own return.  He/she can file his own return for a refund of some of his withheld wages from boxes 2 or 17 (he won’t get back anything for Social Security or Medicare), but MUST indicate on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.  (Supervise this closely or prepare it for him!)

If your dependent’s earnings were over $400 and were reported on a 1099Misc or 1099NEC then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

You might also want to use free software from the IRS Free File versions:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/how-do-i-report-income-from-self-employment/00/...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922

[JohnB5677]

Yes, you can claim your son as a dependent provided he meets the rules below.

• Your son must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, U.S. resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.  There are certain exceptions for adopted children.
• You can't claim someone who is claimed as a dependent on another tax return. 
• You can't claim someone who's married and files a joint tax return. 
• They are related to you? The child can be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or an offspring of any of them.
• Your child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. There's no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.
• The child must live with you for more than half the year. Living at school as a full time student does qualify.
• They may have a job, but they cannot provide more than half of their own support.

See the TurboTax article Rules for Claiming Dependents on Taxes