Can I claim my adult veteran son with 100% VA disability as a dependent?

You may be able to claim your son as a qualifying relative dependent, but you'll need to meet several tests: First, his gross income must be less than $4,700 (for 2025 filing). While VA disability benefits aren't taxable, they DO count toward the support test but NOT toward the gross income test. So if his only income is VA disability, he passes the gross income test. Second, you must provide more than half of his total support for the year. To determine this, add up the annual cost of housing, food, medical expenses, clothing, etc. that you provide, then compare that to what he contributes from his VA benefits toward his own support. If what you provide exceeds what he provides for himself, you pass this test. Third, he must have lived with you the entire year as a member of your household (which sounds like he has). Keep records of what you spend on his support compared to his contribution. This will be important documentation if the IRS questions the dependency claim.

I went through something similar with my son who has a disability. I found https://taxr.ai super helpful because it analyzed all our documentation and gave specific guidance on the qualifying relative rules for adult dependents. I wasn't sure about the VA disability benefits and how they factored in, but it clarified exactly what I needed to do for the support test calculation. The tool explained that I needed to document everything I paid for (housing, utilities, food, etc.) and compare that against his contributions from his benefits. It even helped me identify expenses I hadn't considered that counted toward support. Really took the stress out of the whole situation.

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread. My situation with my daughter who has both VA disability and part-time income was definitely confusing me. The analysis was really clear about how her VA benefits don't count for the gross income test (which is capped at $4,700 for 2025), but her part-time job does. It walked me through calculating the support test step by step and showed me that I was actually providing about 62% of her total support when factoring in the fair rental value of lodging I provide. This was enough to claim her as a qualifying relative. It also flagged that I should keep detailed records of all support provided since mixed income situations like this can trigger questions. Really glad I found this before filing incorrectly!

I had a nightmare situation trying to reach the IRS about dependent questions for my disabled nephew. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Someone recommended https://claimyr.com and showed me this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it actually got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days. The agent clarified that for qualifying relative dependents, I needed to look at the total support provided, not just who pays for what. They explained that the fair rental value of the lodging I provide counts significantly toward the support calculation, which I hadn't been factoring in properly. Also confirmed that his VA disability benefits don't count toward the gross income test but do count when calculating how much he contributes to his own support.

I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After dismissing it as BS, I was still struggling with questions about claiming my disabled parent and couldn't get through to the IRS. Out of desperation, I tried it. Within 20 minutes I was talking to an actual IRS representative who cleared up my confusion about the support test. They confirmed that for my parent's situation, their Social Security doesn't count toward the gross income limit, but does count when calculating how much they contribute to their own support. The representative also explained that medical expenses I pay count toward my support contribution. The service saved me literally days of frustration and potentially filing incorrectly. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually a good thing!

For the support test, don't forget to include the fair rental value of the lodging you provide! This is often overlooked but can make a huge difference in the calculation. When I claimed my disabled brother, our tax preparer pointed out that market-rate rent in our area would be $1,800/month, which gave me an additional $21,600 toward my support contribution for the year! Also, keep in mind that medical expenses not covered by insurance, transportation costs to medical appointments, special dietary needs, adaptive equipment, and personal care items all count toward support. Document everything with receipts when possible.

Beware that the rules for qualifying relatives are different from qualifying children! I messed this up last year. For a qualifying relative (which is what your adult son would be), they cannot be your qualifying child or anyone else's qualifying child. The gross income test ($4,700 for 2025) is also critical - though VA benefits don't count toward this, any other income does. If he has even a part-time job that pays more than the threshold, he won't qualify regardless of how much support you provide.

This is a great question that many families with disabled veterans face. Based on what you've described, your son would likely qualify as a qualifying relative dependent if you meet the support test. Since your son is 30 and living with you due to his 100% permanent and total VA disability, you'll need to calculate whether you provide more than half of his total support. This includes not just obvious expenses like food and clothing, but also the fair market rental value of his housing, utilities, medical expenses, transportation, and any other costs you cover. The good news is that VA disability benefits are not counted toward the gross income test (which has a $4,700 limit for 2025), so that shouldn't be an issue. However, those benefits do count when determining how much he contributes to his own support versus what you provide. One important thing to consider: since your son has a permanent and total disability from the VA, you might want to check if he qualifies for the disabled adult child exception under the qualifying child rules instead. This could be more beneficial since qualifying children don't have the gross income limitation. The IRS definition of "permanently and totally disabled" might align with his VA rating. I'd recommend keeping detailed records of all expenses you pay for his support throughout the year - housing costs, food, medical expenses, utilities, transportation, etc. This documentation will be crucial for calculating the support test accurately and defending your claim if questioned.