Am I reading this right?

[Anonymous 1]

My son will be 17 in June so that means I won't be able to claim him as a dependent on my tax return next year? He will be in high school for the entirety of the year and he costs more than ever. Between buying men's clothes, paying adult admission anywhere we go, the amount of food he eats, and all of the expenses that come with homeschooling, graduation, medical care, starting to drive, etc and I can't claim him.
Where's the logic behind this?

[carterscutie85]

Maybe because he's old enough to get a job, so they want him to pay rather than giving you credit.

Soon as my son turns 16 he's getting a job.

[Anonymous 2]

In the US, you can claim children as dependents up to age 24, providing they meet the other requirements.

[mommy_jules]

What are you reading?

[Anonymous 1]

What are you reading?

[Anonymous 1]

Maybe because he's old enough to get a job, so they want him to pay rather than giving you credit.

Soon as my son turns 16 he's getting a job.

Even if he has a job I still am legally required to provide for him.

[Anonymous 1]

In the US, you can claim children as dependents up to age 24, providing they meet the other requirements.

I'm not seeing that on the irs website.

[mommy_jules]

What are you reading?

Screenshot_20240202_112246_Chrome.jpg

I would imagine that means you can still claim him as a dependent. You just don’t qualify for the Child Tax Credit.

https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/fili ... exemption/

[Traci_Momof2]

You can still claim him as a dependent if he still lives with you for more than half the year and you provided more than half of his support for the year. And children who are still a student can be claimed as a dependent up to age 24. My oldest turned 19 near the end of 2023 but he was still in HS for the first part of 2023 so I can still claim him as a dependent for 2023.

There is an "other dependent" credit of $500 that you could qualify for. At 17 he does NOT qualify for the Child Tax Credit anymore (up to $2000 based on income etc). That's the big difference. For example, my youngest just turned 17 in Jan 2024. So for 2023 income taxes I'll still get the $2,000 credit for him. For 2024 I'll only get the $500 credit.

So definitely still claim him and keep claiming him as long as you can. It's just that at age 17 the benefits reduce, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you can't claim him.

NOTE: If he gets a job while he is still your dependent, if he files his own tax return make sure he marks "someone else can claim me as a dependent" on his return otherwise the IRS could flag your returns.

[Traci_Momof2]

Rules for qualifying child from IRS Form 1040 Instructions