My son made more than 4000.

[sjohnson11]

I paid for his college and he lives at home.

[SweetieJean]

How old was he on 12/31/2016?

[sjohnson11]

21

[IreneS]

UPDATED FOR TAX YEAR 2019

As long as your son didn't provide more than half of his own support for the year you can still claim your son as your dependent..

You can claim your child as a dependent they meet the five tests for a qualifying child and a dependent:

1.  Relationship - They're your child -- no problem there.

2.  Age - A child must be:

• Under age 19 at the end of the year; 
• A student under age 24 at the end of the year; or
• Permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of age.

3.  Residency - Your child must have lived with you for more than half the year. [Being away at college is still considered living with you, for tax purposes.]

4.  Support - The child can't have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.

5.  Joint return - To meet this test, the child can't file a joint return for the year.

You should not include your son's wages on your return.  He should file his own return if necessary.

 If children are still considered your dependents they must file their own return if:

• Their unearned income is greater than $1,100 (like interest and dividends);
• Their earned income is greater than $12,200 (from a job, reported on a W-2); or
• They received a 1099-MISC and their net earnings from self­-employment was at least $400.

If  your son files his own return, be sure that he checks the boxes:

• he can be claimed on someone else's return; and
• he is being claimed on someone else's return

This is very important because you want to claim them on your return

Your TurboTax online login is only good for 1 return.  But you can use the same email address for 5 accounts.   For more information see:  How do I start another return in TurboTax Online?

[Edited | 4/8/2020 |  11:47am PDT]

[mdjanssen]

Turbo Tax 2019 rejected my son as a dependent based on being a student for 4 months out of the year and making too much money.  The 5 criteria stated does not cover this?

[BarbaraW22]

Your son did not qualify as your dependent under the requirement that he must be under age 24 and a student because he was only a student for 4 months. IRS Publication 501 states that to qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year:

• A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body at the school; or

• A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school or by a state, county, or local government agency.

The 5 calendar months don't have to be consecutive.

Since your son did not meet the requirements as a "qualifying child," (see requirements provided above by IreneS) then TurboTax verified whether your son met the requirements to be claimed as a "qualifying relative" (please see the requirements below.) Unfortunately, you were not able to claim your son as a qualifying relative because his income was greater than $4,200 for the year.

In order to be a qualifying relative, the person:

• Can't be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer
• Must live with you all year as a member of your household or must be related to you
• Must have gross income of less than $4,200 for the year
• You must provide more than half of the person's total support

@mdjanssen

[Michael H]

We experienced the same problem.  Adult child between 19 and 24... lived with us for the entire year... only in college for 3+ months in 2019... but made more than $4,200 (not much more than that)... and we basically paid for everything and yet cannot claim as a dependent.  Argh - not a family friendly tax law. 

Just commiserating.

[KRTThatsMe]

Thank you for the above question and responses.  I have two children (teenagers, one in college) that made money (well over $4k), mostly in investment income. Their tax burden if I claim them as a dependent is $5000-$7000 (each). We are over the phase out for most credits. Should I not claim them as a dependent so they can get the full standard deduction and my older child can claim the American Opportunity Credit (and everyone's taxes are easier)?

[DawnC]

They both receive the standard deduction whether you claim them or not.  You do not have to claim either one of them.  

They both have to indicate whether or not they can be claimed by someone else (you) or not.   They can both file their own tax returns and you not claim either of them.  You eldest child can only claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit if he is not claimed on your return.  

How do I answer the "Did you support yourself in 2019?" question? Did I support myself?  

You can start as many tax returns as you like which you should do to see your options.  Choose the option that is most beneficial to your family.  Make sure that you keep the user IDs and passwords as it can get confusing when working with multiple returns.  

[KRTThatsMe]

Thank you. It seems like if I don't claim the older child He/She still only gets the 'dependent' standard deduction of $1,100 (and up to earnings) and not the $12,500. Thank you for the help, again.

[DawnC]

Correct.  

The standard deduction for an individual who can be claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return is generally limited to the greater of:

1. $1,100, or
2. The individual's earned income for the year plus $350 (but not more than the regular standard deduction amount, generally $12,200).

[Misty527]

My son turned 19 in April 2020 was a full time student in high school and graduated in May June somewhere through there. Ok I always use the turbo tax estimate tax calculator and it has been right every year even this year my sisters,fiance and others that I checked was right on it except mine the amount it gave me on the calculator was 9 000 and something last year was 8000 something refund. Ok I filed my taxes with a loan company and told me that I get like right at 6000 my state I always get all of it bk like everyone else and last year I did 800 and something this year it was 800 and something and I only get 400 of it....I hope your understanding me lol. But anyways should my 19 yo be claimed as a dependant or whatever and then I had 1 child that gets the child tax credit. Everything was basically the same on 2019 and 2020 tax papers that they gave me but I. Not understanding why that big of a difference u can check ur self I made 21,000.00 >>>fed 1800>>>state 865.00>>>>1 dependant for child tax credit >>>>then my 19 years dob is April thats when he will turn 20 this year>>>401k contribution >>>>>didn't have any child care or anything like that. Can someone please help me understand this because that is a big big difference with everything the same but  its like she didn't even put him on it or so something. I know something isn't right can someone help me to understand and tell me what I need to do so I can get someone else to check it TIA

[MarilynG1]

@Misty527 Click this link for info on Claiming a Dependent.

If your son turned 19 in 2020 and was not a college student, you won't receive the Child Tax Credit for him. 

If he earned less than $4300, you may get a $500 credit for him as an 'Other Dependent'.  

This could account for the difference between last year's refund and this year's. 

[devineju]

My 22 year old daughter made over 4500 last year, but does not have to contribute to living expenses or anything else. Can I claim her on my taxes?

[KrisD15]

Only if she is a student or disabled. Otherwise she is too old to be your Qualifying Child and earned too much to be your Qualifying Relative. 

A “Qualifying Child is a person that meet these tests:

• WHO IS THE PERSON? The person must be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or a descendent of any of them.
• HOW OLD IS THE PERSON? The person must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. They must also be younger than you (or either you or your spouse if you’re filing Married Filing Jointly)

There is no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.

• WHERE DOES THE PERSON LIVE? The person must have lived with you for more than half the tax year, but several exceptions apply such as school and military service.
• WHO SUPPORTS THE PERSON? The person cannot have provided more than half of their own support. It doesn’t matter how much they earned.
• HOW WILL THIS PERSON FILE THEIR TAX RETURN (IF THEY HAVE TO FILE ONE)? The person can’t be filing a Married Filing Jointly tax return, although there is an exception to that.

A QUALIFYING RELATIVE IS A PERSON THAT MEETS THESE TESTS:

                This person can’t be a qualifying child to you or anyone else.

                This person must have lived with you OR be a relative of yours.

                This person must have gross income of less than $4,300

                This person must have gotten more than half their support from you.