Can I claim my adult son as a dependent?

Question

My 25 year old son has severe Crohn's disease and did not work all year.  He also lived with me.  He collected food stamps but no other assistance and no cash at all.  Can I claim him as a dependent?  Will it save me on taxes or just complicate and delay the processing of my refund?

kiarab · Answer

Hello everyone,

There are two types of dependents. Qualifying Child and Qualifying Relative. Generally, if your dependent is an adult that is no longer a student then they would likely qualify as a Qualifying Relative. I'll list the requirements to be a Qualifying Relative:

1. The person can’t be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who don’t have to live with you, or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household (and your relationship must not violate local law).

3. The person’s gross income for the year must be less than$5,200

4. You must provide more than half of the person’s total support or the year.

While Qualifying Relatives do not qualify for the EIC or Child Tax Credit, they do qualifying for the Credit for Other Dependents which is a $500 non-refundable credit.

I'm also going to include a couple of helpful links (one has been mentioned a few times) that goes over more of the dependent rules.

IRS quiz: https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent
 Publication 501 (there is a nice chart on page 12 that goes over the individual rules for both Qualifying Child and Qualifying Relative)

Cinbo0123 · Answer

I needed to know if my adult child that has a addiction problem and has lived with me for over a year since he got out of prison and will not work if I can claim him as a dependent

jnewell7 · Answer

For a dependent to be claimed as a qualifying child, they must fulfil the age requirement mentioned previously (Be under age 19 or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled)

However, you may still be able to claim your son as a qualifying relative instead of a qualifying child. To claim a qualifying relative, a dependent must meet the following requirements:

A qualifying relative must meet general rules for dependents and pass these tests:

* Not a qualifying child: Isn't your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer
* Member of household or relationship: Lives with you all year as a member of your household or is a specific type of relative
* Gross income: Has gross income under $4,700
* Support: Gets more than half their financial support from you

See the full rules for a qualifying relative

If you are still unsure about whether or not you can claim your son, I recommend using this interactive IRS tool:

Whom may I claim as a dependent? | Internal Revenue Service

Once you've clicked on the link, scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'Begin'