A qualifying child can qualify as your dependent if they meet the following IRS conditions.
- The minor is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, adopted the child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, grandchild, niece or nephew. The child must be younger than you and under age 19 at the end of the year. Otherwise, he or she must be younger than you, and a full-time student, under age 24 at the end of the year. There is no age limit if the child is permanently or totally disabled.
- You must have financially provided over half of his or her support.
- The child must not file a joint return. If he or she is filing a joint return, they can only claim a refund of tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
- The child must have lived with you in your home for more than half the year;
- The child must be an unmarried U.S citizen, U.S national, U.S resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico;
- Must have earned under $4,050 at the end of the year (subject to change).
- You and your Spouse (if you are filing married filing jointly) cannot be a dependent of another taxpayer’s return.
What information do I need to claim the dependent?
You can claim your qualifying child as a dependent on your return if all these terms are met then. Include the dependent’s full name, date of birth, relationship to you, social security number and income earned.
Each dependent can only be claimed once. You are allowed an exemption for each person you claim as a dependent. If the individual is a qualifying dependent of more than one parent, the parent with the higher Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) can take the exemption. , If the dependent you are claiming a dependent is filing their own tax, he or she must indicate on their tax return that they are being claimed. Read more about claiming a dependent child.
