Your dependent children must file a tax return when they earn above a certain amount of income. Dependent children with earned income in excess of $14,600 must file an income tax return (for the 2024 tax year). Dependent children with unearned income of more than $1,300 must also file a return.
The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.2 3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,300.3 Gross income means all income the person received in the form of money, goods, property and services, that isn't exempt from tax.
Even if someone else, like a parent, claims you on their own tax return, you may still be required to file your own return. Filing requirements vary with annual income, marital status, Earned Income Tax Credit requirements, and other factors.
For qualifying dependents who are not a qualifying child (called “qualifying relatives” in tax law), the person's gross income for the 2023 tax year must be below $4,700 (for 2023). For qualifying relatives, they must get more than half of their financial support from you.
You can claim a child who works as a dependent if they still meet the requirements to be a qualifying child – including the age, relationship, residency, and support tests.
Under the qualifying relative test, there's no age requirement. However, the child's gross income must be less than $5,050 for the year. You must also provide more than half of the dependent's total support.
To claim a child's income on a parent's tax return, the child needs to be considered a qualifying child dependent of the parent. Parents can use IRS Form 8814 to elect to report their child's income on their tax return instead of the child filing their own return.
If you're a dependent on someone else's return
You can be claimed as a dependent and still need to file your own tax return. Your filing requirement depends on your income, marital status and other criteria. Find details on filing requirements for dependents.
To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly and either younger than 19 years old or be a "student" younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
A qualifying child can earn an unlimited amount of money and still be claimed as a dependent, so long as the child doesn't also provide more than half of their own support.
Cons of Claiming a College Student as a Dependent
If your child has earned income and you claim them as a dependent, they lose the opportunity to claim their own personal exemption (when applicable in future years) and certain tax credits that could be more advantageous for them.
If you have a dependent who's earning income, good news — you can still claim them as a dependent so long as other dependent rules still apply. Your dependent's earned income doesn't go on your return. Filing tax returns for children is easy in that respect.
A child who has only earned income must file a return only if the total is more than the standard deduction for the year. Your child will have to pay tax on the salary only to the extent it exceeds the standard deduction amount for the year: $14,600 in 2024.
There is no age limit for how long you can claim adult children or other relatives as dependents, but they must meet other IRS requirements to continue to qualify. Additionally, once they are over 18 and no longer a student, they can only qualify as an "other dependent," not a qualifying child.
The minimum income requiring a dependent to file a federal tax return. 2024 filing requirements for dependents under 65: Earned income of at least $14,600, or unearned income (like from investments or trusts) of at least $1,300. You must include on your Marketplace application income for any dependent required to file.
Some examples of dependents include a child, stepchild, brother, sister, or parent. Individuals who qualify to be claimed as a dependent may be required to file a tax return if they meet the filing requirements.
The Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC) provides up to $1,154 per eligible tax return for tax year 2024. YCTC may provide you with cash back or reduce any tax you owe. California families qualify with earned income of $31,950 or less.
We recommend that you prep that documentation as soon as possible and return it to the IRS. Wait for the IRS to decide which parent can claim the child. Once the IRS makes a determination, the parent who filed incorrectly will need to return any taxes, fees or interest owed without this exemption.
The parent will have to pay tax on all the interest if it's above their own Personal Savings Allowance. You must also tell HMRC if a child has an income over their Personal Allowance, eg from a trust. The child will have to pay the tax on this. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April each year.
If your dependent receives a Form W-2, you cannot report it on your tax return. Your dependent has to report the Form W-2 on their own tax return (if they are required to file). If you need help reporting Form W-2, go to our Form W-2 - Entering in Program FAQ.
If you're a parent, your child's taxable income is inherently linked to yours. In some cases, you may be able to include their income on your tax return. In other cases, they'll have to file their own tax return or you will have to file a separate return on their behalf.
Gross income is the total of your unearned and earned income. If your gross income was $5,050 or more, you usually can't be claimed as a dependent unless you are a qualifying child. For details, see Dependents.
Can they claim an exemption for me as a dependent or qualifying child on their tax return? Share: It's possible, but once you're over age 24, you can no longer be claimed as a qualifying child. The only exception to this is if you're permanently and totally disabled.
He works and made more than $5,050 in 2024. Can I claim him as a dependent? Answer: No, because your child would not meet the age test, which says your “qualifying child” must be under age 19 or 24 if a full-time student for at least 5 months out of the year.