[decent n in charge]

does a dependent child have to be a qualifying child? meaning if a parent claims a dependent and its their child but 30. i want to say its a qualifying relative because of the age limit. I went to the IRS website and they state “qualifying dependent” now I’m not sure what to think.

[taxgeek83]

The age test doesn't apply for the qualifying relative exemption.

https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/tables_1_2_4012.pdf

https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/table_2_dependency_exemption_relative_4012.pdf

These are from the VITA training book – I used those charts with just about every client that came in where the exemption was in question. It can get a little muddied, but the basic gist is that the qualifying child has to be under a certain age and related to you, while the qualifying relative can be of any age and does not have to be related to you as long as that person meets all other dependency exemption qualifications.

The rules are different for credits such as the EITC, Child Tax Credit, etc., so be careful there.

[Son]

tmak, if I understand correctly you're asking if your client can claim “qualifying widower” status – likely not since the child is already 30. The child can still be claimed as a dependent, but the filing status will likely be single or head of household if the spouse died before 2015.

AUD - passed
REG - passed
BEC - passed
FAR - passed

[decent n in charge]

thanks for the help guys, i really appreciate it!

[Author]

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