My son who is 25 cannot work because of some mental challenges and I have paid for most of his food last year. Can I claim him?

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

You may be able to claim him as a dependent if his gross income was less then $4,400 in 2022 and you provided over one-half of his support and meets all the other requirements under the Qualifying Relative 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 $4,400 (social security does not count) in 2022
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.

[Hal_Al]

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test.

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* (at any age). 
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

A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4400 (2022).
3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

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

*No specific medical diagnosis constitutes disabled to tax purposes.

“The term ‘disability’ means, with respect to an individual –

            (a)        a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major            life activities of such individual;

            (b)        a record of such impairment; or

            (c)        being regarded as having such an impairment.”

For the IRS, disabled means -

"an individual shall be considered to be disabled if he is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration. An individual shall not be considered to be disabled unless he furnishes proof of the existence thereof in such form and manner as the Secretary may require. "

I believe the substance of that paragraph is that it is your Doctor's decision

1. He or she cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition and
2. A doctor determines the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can lead to death.

However, the IRS defines Substantial gainful activity this way so if they have part time jobs then they are engaging in any substantial gainful activity so it would not meet the requirements.

"Substantial gainful activity is the performance of significant duties over a reasonable period of time while working for pay or profit, or in work generally done for pay or profit. Full-time work (or part-time work done at your employer's convenience) in a competitive work situation for at least the minimum wage conclusively shows that you are able to engage in substantial gainful activity. "

[Opus 17]

@marvsains64 

The key thing you need to focus on is "unable to perform substantial gainful activity" (where "gainful" means earning money).  Working at a sheltered workshop for persons with disabilities is not considered gainful activity even if he is paid, but being able to hold down a minimum wage, part-time job would be considered gainful activity.   If audited, you may need to prove the disability with a letter from a doctor or other qualified professional.

Also, the only tax benefits of claiming a dependent over age 16 (regardless of if they are considered a qualifying child or qualifying relative dependent) are:

1. a $500 credit for other dependent

2. eligible to claim the child and dependent care credit if you have to pay for someone to watch your child while you are at work because they can't take care of themselves without supervision

3. can claim medical expenses you pay for your dependent as itemized deductions

4. can carry your dependent on your health insurance past the age of 26 (but verify this with your insurance carrier).