Dependent Clarification: Determining Child Tax Credit Eligibility for Dependents Over 17

The IRS has some specific rules about who counts as a dependent, stating they need to be under 19 or under 24 if they're a full-time student. I'm trying to figure out the tax credit situation - I know there's a Child Tax Credit worth $2,000 for dependents under 17. And if they're over 17, there's still this smaller $500 dependent credit available. But here's where I'm confused... If I have someone over 17 who is NOT a student, can I still claim that $500 credit for them? And what if they ARE students, does that change anything? My thinking is that if they're over 19 and NOT students, they wouldn't even count as dependents in the first place, so no credit would be available at all. But I want to make sure I understand this correctly because tax season is coming up and I need to know how to handle this for my family members.

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20 comments

Emily Sanjay

•8M

You're partly on the right track, but let me clarify a few things about dependent eligibility and the associated credits. For dependency purposes, there are actually two types of dependents: qualifying children and qualifying relatives. For qualifying children, yes, they must be under 19 or under 24 if they're full-time students. But for qualifying relatives (which can include adult children who don't meet the qualifying child test), there's no age limit. For the tax credits: The $2,000 Child Tax Credit is indeed only for qualifying children under 17. The $500 credit you're referring to is called the Credit for Other Dependents. This $500 credit is available for dependents who don't qualify for the Child Tax Credit. So to answer your specific questions: If you have dependents over 17 who are NOT students but still meet other dependent tests (like income, relationship, and support tests), they could qualify as dependent relatives and be eligible for the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. If they ARE students under 24, they might qualify as dependent children, and would still be eligible for the $500 credit (not the $2,000 Child Tax Credit since they're over 17).

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Emily Sanjay

•8M

For a 20-year-old who is not in school, they would need to qualify under the "qualifying relative" rules to be claimed as a dependent. They must have lived with you all year (with some exceptions), their gross income must be less than $4,700 (for 2025 tax year), and you must have provided more than half of their total support for the year. If they meet all these tests, you can claim them as a dependent and take the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. If they earned too much or don't meet the other tests, then you can't claim them as a dependent.

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Natalie Adams

•8M

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Natalie Adams

•8M

It checks all the dependent rules, not just the basics. It goes through the qualifying child vs. qualifying relative tests, support test, relationship test, and even identifies edge cases. I was especially impressed because it flagged that my son would have different eligibility the following year based on his expected income change. For complicated situations like divorced parents or mid-year moves, it actually has specific questions about custody arrangements, divorce decrees, and residing timeframes. It caught that my ex tried to claim our child in a year when I had the legal right according to our divorce agreement, and it provided the exact form I needed to address this.

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•8M

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Olivia Van-Cleve

•8M

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Olivia Van-Cleve

•8M

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Sophia Russo

•8M

I can't believe I'm saying this, but that Claimyr service actually works. After posting my skeptical comment, I was desperate to figure out if my 22-year-old daughter who graduated in December counted as a student for the whole year for dependent purposes. I reluctantly tried it, and no joke, I got a call back with an actual IRS person on the line in about 30 minutes. The agent confirmed that because my daughter was a full-time student for at least 5 months of the year (Jan-May), she still qualified as a student for the entire tax year! So I could claim her as a qualifying child and get the $500 credit. Saved me from making a mistake on my taxes and potentially dealing with a correction letter. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong about something!

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Evelyn Xu

•8M

Scholarships used for qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies, and required equipment) are generally not counted as income. However, scholarship money used for room, board, and other non-qualified expenses would count toward your daughter's income for the gross income test. So if part of her scholarship goes to housing, that portion might count toward the income limit. But remember, for students under 24 who are qualifying children (not qualifying relatives), there's no income test - only for qualifying relatives is there the $4,700 income limit.

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Nia Jackson

•3M

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation with my 18-year-old who graduated high school last year but decided to take a gap year before college. He's working part-time and living at home. From what I'm understanding here, since he's over 17 and not a student, he can't be a qualifying child. But if his income is under $4,700 and I provide more than half his support, he could qualify as a qualifying relative for the $500 Credit for Other Dependents, right? The tricky part is calculating whether I'm providing "more than half" his support. He pays for his own gas and some personal expenses, but I cover housing, food, health insurance, and his phone. Does anyone know if there's a specific worksheet or method the IRS recommends for calculating this support test?

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Paige Cantoni

•2M

Yes, you're absolutely right about your 18-year-old potentially qualifying as a qualifying relative! The IRS does have Publication 501 which includes worksheets for calculating the support test. For the support calculation, you'll want to add up the total cost of his support for the year including: fair rental value of lodging you provide, food, clothing, medical/dental care, education, transportation, recreation, and other necessities. Then compare what you paid vs. what he paid for himself. Since you're covering housing (which is usually the biggest expense), food, health insurance, and phone, you're likely providing well over half his support even if he pays for gas and personal items. The key is to use actual dollar amounts - so if his total support costs were $15,000 and you provided $8,000+ of that, you'd meet the test. Just make sure his gross income stays under $4,700 for the year and you should be good for the $500 credit!

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