For a 19-year-old child, you can generally claim a nonrefundable $500 Credit for Other Dependents. To qualify, they must be a full-time student (under 24) or disabled, or meet the qualifying relative test by having a gross income below a certain limit (e.g., $5,200 in 2025) and receiving over half their support from you.
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.
For a 19-year-old dependent, you generally get a $500 Credit for Other Dependents, not the Child Tax Credit, if they don't qualify as a "qualifying child" (under 19, or under 24 if full-time student for at least 5 months, lived with you, and provided less than half their own support). Eligibility for this $500 credit depends on your income, and it's a nonrefundable credit, meaning it reduces your tax bill but you won't get it back as a refund if it's more than the taxes you owe.
Key Takeaways
A dependent child who has earned more than $15,750 of earned income (tax year 2025) typically needs to file a personal income tax form. Earned income includes wages, tips, salaries, and payment from self-employment.
Other dependents—including children ages 17–18 and full-time college students ages 19–23—can be claimed for a nonrefundable credit of up to $500 each.
You can no longer claim the main Child Tax Credit (CTC) for a child who is age 17 or older by the end of the tax year, but they might qualify for the smaller, nonrefundable Credit for Other Dependents ($500) if they meet other criteria like being a student or disabled, or you may still claim them as a dependent for other benefits if they are under 19 (or 24 for students) and meet other rules, says the IRS. The key age cutoff for the main CTC is being under 17 at year-end, meaning a 17-year-old (no matter their birthday) doesn't qualify for the full credit, according to the Tax Policy Center.
The maximum credit amount is $500 for each dependent who meets certain conditions. This credit can be claimed for: Dependents of any age, including those who are age 18 or older. Dependents who have Social Security numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers.
Make sure your dependent meets the IRS requirements. Generally, the IRS requires that the child is under the age of 19 (or under 24 if a full-time student), lives with you for more than half the year, and does not provide more than half of their own financial support.
If your adult child is over the age of 19, the most common way for a parent to claim them as a dependent is if they are under the age of 24 by the end of the year and a full-time student. It doesn't matter if that child lives with you or on campus as long as they were enrolled in school for at least five months.
For most, dependants are typically under the age of 18. However, a dependant can also be someone over the age of 18 that has a disability (a “mental or physical infirmity” is another term the government will use).
Children aged 16 to 18 may be dependent because of being in full-time education or training, or for other reasons. People aged 19 or over are not envisaged as being 'dependent children' at all.
Your parents can claim you as a dependent on their taxes after you turn 18 if they support you financially and you meet other IRS requirements for dependent children or relatives.
Yes. The IRS requires that you report all of your income, even if it's less than $600 and you didn't get a tax form for it. Follow these steps to enter your income. We'll ask you some questions to determine if your income is from self-employment or is ordinary income.
The IRS "10k rule" primarily refers to the requirement for businesses and financial institutions to report cash transactions over $10,000 by filing Form 8300 (for businesses) or a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) (for banks), under the Bank Secrecy Act. This rule helps combat money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing, requiring reporting for single transactions or related transactions totaling over $10,000 in cash within a year, with penalties for non-compliance.
The minimum salary to pay federal tax (meaning you must file a return) depends on your filing status, age, and year, but for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), single individuals under 65 must file if they earn $15,750 or more, while married couples filing jointly (both under 65) must file if they earn $31,500 or more; however, you must file if you're married filing separately with even $5 in gross income, and self-employed individuals with $400 or more in net earnings must also file, as well as some 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.
Yes, you can give your son $100,000 tax-free in 2025 by utilizing the annual gift tax exclusion and your lifetime exemption, but you'll need to report the gift to the IRS on Form 709 since it exceeds the $19,000 annual limit, though you won't pay tax unless you exceed your much larger $13.99 million lifetime gift/estate tax exemption. The gift is considered yours (the giver) for tax purposes, not your son's.
For the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), the qualifying child must be under age 17 at the end of the tax year (meaning 16 or younger) and meet other criteria like having a Social Security number, being a U.S. citizen/resident, and living with the taxpayer for more than half the year, with the credit amount typically up to $2,200 per child for 2025, notes the IRS, National Conference of State Legislatures, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Tax Policy Center.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily expanded the child tax credit for the 2021 tax year to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child up to age 17.
If the question, “How can I get the biggest tax refund?” is still on your mind. Remember these things—staying organized, choosing the right filing status, and claiming credits and deductions can help you get a bigger refund from the IRS.