Why doesn't my son qualify as a dependent? He is 25 and earned over $5200, however, I paid more than 50% of his living expenses, and he lived with me all year.

[VolvoGirl]

Both those reasons.   He is over 23 and made more than $5,200.   If he was under 24 and a full time student you could still claim him.   

[Opus 17]

Because the law says that if he is age 24 or older and has income over $5200, he can't be claimed as a dependent.  It's just how the rules work.

(If he is disabled, and unable to perform gainful work, and his income was earned in a sheltered workshop, he might qualify.  That's more complex and we would need more details.  But for a non-disabled person, the $5200 is a hard limit.)

[xmasbaby0]

Sorry--he is too old to be claimed as a qualifying child and made too much to be claimed as a qualifying relative.   He cannot be claimed as anyone else's dependent.

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

Since he is over the age of 23, even if a full time student, he is no longer eligible to be claimed as a dependent under the Qualifying Child rules.  He can only be claimed as a dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules where one of the rules states that their gross income for the year must be less than $5,200 among the other rules to be claimed as a dependent.  Since his income is $5,200 or more, then no one can claim him as a dependent.

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 $5,200 (social security does not count) in 2025
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 with the following exception -
You can claim a person as a dependent who files a joint return if that person and that person’s spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.