Dependent 24 & over

Question

FreeTax USA online program allowed my 24 year old (born 9/7/2001) son at the end of 12/31/2025 to be claimed as a dependent on another individuals tax return even though he had over $5,200 in income and is not permanently or totally disabled.

I thought 24 & over, greater than $5,200 income and not disabled an individual could not be claimed as a dependent.   Am I missing something?

kiarab · Answer

Hello KanTex,

As JMSSGV said, it may be that the questions were not filled out correctly by the person who claimed your child as a dependent. If they didn't answer the income question correctly, for example, and everything else otherwise fit, then they would have been claimed as a dependent.

Your son could still file his own return and claim himself, he may need to mail in his returns since his returns will probably be rejected. The person (if you know who) should amend their returns to remove him as a dependent. Otherwise, the IRS will eventually contact both to see who had the right and the person in error will need to change their return and possibly be subject to penalties and fees.

JMSSGV · Answer

Assuming you did not prepare the other person's tax return in FTUSA yourself, how can you be sure the questions regarding dependent qualification were answered correctly?