How do I claim my teen with part-time job income as a dependent on my taxes?

You absolutely can still claim your 17-year-old as a dependent! The rules aren't actually based on a specific dollar threshold like $5,000 or $6,500. For a qualifying child dependent, there are several tests that must be met, but the income test is more nuanced than just a single number. For a qualifying child, the main tests are relationship, age, residency, and support. Since he's your son, lives with you full-time, is under 19 (or under 24 if a full-time student), and you provide more than half his support, you meet those requirements. The income test only applies to qualifying relatives, not qualifying children. Your son can earn any amount and still be your dependent as long as he doesn't provide more than half of his own support. As for your tax return, you don't include his income on your return. He would file his own return if required (generally if his income exceeds the standard deduction, which is $12,950 for 2025). If he only makes $5,800-$7,000, he'll likely get all his withheld taxes refunded when he files.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my teenager! After spending hours trying to figure it out myself, I discovered this AI tax assistant at https://taxr.ai that completely simplified everything. I uploaded my previous returns and my son's W-2, and it automatically calculated everything and explained how the dependent rules worked in clear language. It confirmed what the previous commenter said - there's no specific income threshold that would prevent you from claiming your 17-year-old. The system showed me how to properly report everything and even flagged some deductions I was missing related to education expenses. Saved me a ton of stress!

I need to follow up about my skepticism of taxr.ai. I actually tried it after posting my previous comment and am shocked at how helpful it was! I uploaded my documents including my kids' income information, and it immediately identified that I had been incorrectly calculating my eldest son's support contribution. Turns out I COULD claim him despite his part-time job income being around $9,000. The system explained exactly how to determine "support" versus just "income" and showed what documentation I should keep in case of audit. It was honestly a game-changer for my family's tax situation. Never thought I'd be recommending tax AI but here we are!

If you're still having problems or want to talk to an actual IRS agent about your dependent situation, try https://claimyr.com. I was stuck in an endless loop trying to get through to the IRS about a similar dependent question with my stepson who has income. Kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours! This service got me connected to a real IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the 2+ hours I was waiting before. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed I could claim my stepson despite his income and explained exactly how to document everything correctly on both our returns.

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I was desperate to resolve a dependent audit issue with my college-age son who made about $7,500 last year. Called the IRS directly EIGHT times over two weeks with no success. Used Claimyr and got through in 35 minutes! The agent confirmed I was correct to claim my son despite his income and helped me respond to the audit letter with exactly the right documentation. Saved me potentially thousands in incorrectly denied deductions and credits. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong - this service actually delivered.

Something important nobody has mentioned yet - make sure your child files their OWN tax return if they had taxes withheld from their paychecks! Even if they aren't required to file because their income is below the threshold, they should file to get those withholdings refunded. My son lost out on about $400 in refunds one year because I thought since I claimed him, he didn't need to file. Big mistake! Him filing his own return doesn't affect your ability to claim him as a dependent at all.

I messed this up last year and its important to know! If ur 17 year old files there own return make sure they DONT claim themselves as independent!! My son did this and then when I filed claiming him as a dependent, we got a letter from IRS months later saying we had conflicting returns. Was a huge headache to fix!!!!

This is exactly the kind of confusion that trips up so many parents! The good news is that your situation is straightforward - you can definitely still claim your 17-year-old as a dependent even with his part-time job income. The key thing to understand is that for a "qualifying child" (which your son is), there's no income limit at all. The tests are: relationship (he's your son ✓), age (under 19 or under 24 if student ✓), residency (lives with you more than half the year ✓), and support (you provide more than half his support ✓). Since you mentioned you pay for more than half his expenses and he lives with you full-time, you clearly meet the support test. His $5,800-$7,000 income won't disqualify him as your dependent. A few important reminders: - You don't include his income on your return - He should file his own return if taxes were withheld (to get refunds) - Make sure he checks the box saying "someone can claim me as a dependent" on his return - This prevents the conflicting returns issue that some others mentioned You're being smart to double-check everything with his first job - it shows you want to do things right!