Can I Claim My Adult Child as a Dependent?

Claiming an adult child as a dependent on your tax return involves meeting specific Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. The tax code provides two pathways for this, each with its own set of requirements based on the child’s age, income, residency, and financial support. To claim the dependency, you must satisfy all the conditions of either the “Qualifying Child” test or the “Qualifying Relative” test.

The Qualifying Child Tests

The first path is to determine if your adult child meets the “Qualifying Child” criteria. This requires satisfying five distinct tests, and all of them must be met. Failing even one test means your child does not qualify under this definition.

Relationship Test

The individual must be your son, daughter, stepchild, or an eligible foster child. The test also includes your brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them, such as a grandchild or nephew. An adopted child is always treated as your own child for tax purposes.

Age Test

To pass the age test, the child must be under age 19 at the end of the tax year, or under age 24 and a “full-time student” for at least part of five calendar months. The five months do not need to be consecutive. A full-time student is enrolled for the number of hours or courses a school considers full-time attendance, which can include colleges, universities, and technical schools.

An exception exists for any child who is “permanently and totally disabled” at any time during the year, as the age test does not apply in this case. An individual is considered permanently and totally disabled if they cannot engage in substantial gainful activity due to a physical or mental condition. A doctor must determine the condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or can lead to death.

Residency Test

The residency test requires the child to have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences for reasons like school, vacation, medical care, or military service are considered time lived at home. For instance, a college student living in a dormitory is still considered to have lived with their parents.

Support Test

For a qualifying child, the support test requires that the child did not provide more than half of their own support for the year. This means the child cannot be self-sufficient. There is no limit to the amount of income a qualifying child can earn, as long as that income is not used to provide more than half of their own support.

Joint Return Test

The child cannot file a joint tax return with a spouse for the tax year. An exception exists if the joint return is filed only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. If they file for any other reason, you cannot claim them as a dependent.

The Qualifying Relative Tests

If your adult child does not meet the criteria to be a qualifying child, you may still claim them as a dependent by meeting four different tests. The “Qualifying Relative” path is often used for an adult child who is over 23 and not disabled but still relies on your support.

Not a Qualifying Child Test

The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. This rule prevents an individual from being claimed by multiple people under different dependency rules. For example, if your son could be claimed as a qualifying child by his grandparent, you cannot claim him as a qualifying relative.

Member of Household or Relationship Test

The individual must either live with you for the entire year as a member of your household or be related to you. The list of accepted relatives is the same as for the qualifying child test. A key difference for a qualifying relative is that they do not have to live with you to meet the relationship part of this test.

Gross Income Test

The adult child’s gross income for the tax year must be less than a specific amount set by the IRS. For the 2025 tax year, this amount is $5,200. Gross income includes all income that is not tax-exempt, such as wages, unemployment compensation, and certain taxable Social Security benefits.

Support Test

The support test for a qualifying relative is more demanding than for a qualifying child, as you must provide more than 50% of the person’s total support for the calendar year. To determine if you meet this test, you must compare the amount you contributed to the total cost of their support from all sources, including their own funds. Total support includes expenses like food, lodging, clothing, education, medical and dental care, recreation, and transportation. The fair rental value of the lodging you provide is a component of this calculation.

Tax Benefits for Claiming an Adult Child

Claiming an adult child as a dependent can provide several tax benefits that reduce your overall tax liability. The primary benefit is the Credit for Other Dependents. This is a nonrefundable credit, which means it can reduce your tax to zero, but you cannot get any of it back as a refund beyond that point.

The Credit for Other Dependents is worth up to $500 for each eligible dependent and is available for those who do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit. The credit begins to phase out for taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income over $200,000, or $400,000 for those married filing jointly.

Claiming a dependent may also allow you to use the Head of Household filing status if you are unmarried and pay more than half the costs of keeping up a home for that person. This status offers a higher standard deduction and more favorable tax brackets. You may also be able to deduct medical and dental expenses you paid for your dependent if you itemize and your total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

How to Claim Your Adult Child Dependent

Once you have confirmed your adult child meets either the Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative tests, you will report the information on your Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. There is a specific section on the front page of the form designated for dependents. In the ‘Dependents’ section, you must enter the adult child’s full name, Social Security number (SSN), and their relationship to you.

You will then need to check a box in column (4) to indicate which tax credit they qualify for. If they meet the criteria for the Credit for Other Dependents, you will check the corresponding box. This action alerts the IRS that you are claiming the $500 credit, and the total amount is then used to reduce your total tax. It is important to ensure all information, especially the SSN, is entered correctly to avoid processing delays.