What qualifies as a dependent

[hziven]

My daughter turned 24 in April 2016 and is a full time grad student for whom I pay all expenses and tuition.  Turbo tax insists that she is still my dependent when I go through the questions asked (which includes her birthdate). 

Is she still my dependent according to tax law or not, as professed by Turbotax?

[Texas Roger]

She may be your dependent if she made less than $4050 in 2016. Here are the rules:

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  taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 in 2016.

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, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

[hziven]

Thank you Mr. Roger.  If you could focus on the tax code, is my daughter's age of 24 last year a problem for me to claim her as a dependent?  When I read the IRS guidelines, it is.  Not by Tubotax.    I have no complications about anyone other than me claiming her as a dependent as you amply adivse against.  The income limit is not a problem for her either as she makes a pittance while she is in school.

[Texas Roger]

There are two types of dependents--qualifying child and qualifying relative. She is too old to be a qualifying child dependent because she must be UNDER age 24 at year end 2016 to be that type of dependent. However, there is no age limit for a qualifying relative dependent. There is a $4050 income limit and you must have provided more than half her total support for the year. These are just 2 of the 5 requirements listed in my answer to determine if she can be claimed as a qualifying relative dependent.