How much can I make before I can't be claimed as a dependent for 2025 taxes?

What you're dealing with is the confusion between two different concepts: the income limit for being a qualifying child dependent vs. the standard deduction amount. For 2025 filing (2024 tax year), your parents can claim you as a dependent if you're under 24 and a full-time student, regardless of how much you earn - there's no income cap for qualifying child dependents who are students! The $4,300 figure you saw likely refers to the limit for "qualifying relative" dependents, which is different from your situation as a student. The $14,500 figure is approximately the standard deduction for a single filer, which means you wouldn't owe federal income tax until you earn above that amount. But this has nothing to do with whether your parents can claim you. What actually matters for your parents to claim you: 1) You're under 24 and a full-time student 2) You live with them for more than half the year (dorms count as temporary absence) 3) They provide more than half your total support for the year.

Hey, I went through the exact same confusion with my parents last year! I found this super helpful tool at https://taxr.ai that analyzes your specific situation and tells you exactly where you stand with dependency status. It saved me so much stress because I was working two jobs while in school and my mom was freaking out about the same thing. What's cool is you can just upload your documents or income info and it shows you the impact on both your taxes and your parents' taxes. Helped me prove to my parents that my campus job wasn't going to mess up their tax situation, and showed exactly how much I could make before it affected anything.

Just wanted to update - I checked out taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and wow, actually super helpful! I uploaded my last paystub and my scholarship info, and it immediately clarified that my parents CAN still claim me regardless of my income since I'm a full-time student under 24. The tool even showed that the "support test" was the only thing that mattered in my case, and calculated that with my tuition, housing, and medical expenses all factored in, my parents were providing about 67% of my total support for the year. Showed the results to my dad and he was relieved. No more arguments about me picking up extra shifts! Seriously worth checking out if you're confused about dependency status.

If you're trying to get a straight answer from the IRS about your dependency status, good luck getting through to an actual human! After trying for DAYS to reach someone at the IRS about a similar dependency question (my daughter is working while in grad school), I found https://claimyr.com and their service honestly saved my sanity. Their demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c shows exactly how it works. Instead of waiting on hold forever, they somehow get you in the IRS phone queue and call you back when an actual agent is ready to talk. Got connected to an IRS representative in about 90 minutes instead of wasting an entire day on hold. The agent confirmed exactly what others are saying here - as a full-time student under 24, there's no income limit that would disqualify you from being claimed as a dependent.

I was totally skeptical about Claimyr (especially after trying to reach the IRS for 3 weeks straight), but I was desperate about getting clarity on a dependent situation with my son who's in college with a decent paying internship. I finally gave in and tried it yesterday. Can't believe I'm saying this, but it actually worked exactly as advertised. Got a call back in about 2 hours, and was connected directly to an IRS agent who answered all my questions about the support test for dependents. The agent confirmed there's no income limit for student dependents under 24, and walked me through exactly how to calculate the support percentage. Saved me hours of frustration and possibly hundreds in tax mistakes. Sometimes you gotta admit when you're wrong, and I was definitely wrong about this service!

My sister ran into this exact issue last year! For 2024 taxes (filing in 2025), the rules are: 1. If you're a full-time student under 24, you can be claimed as a Qualifying Child regardless of income. 2. The support test is key - your parents need to provide more than 50% of your total support. 3. The standard deduction ($14,600 approximately for 2024) only affects whether YOU owe taxes. Your mom is confusing two different concepts. Keep working and making that money! Just make sure you're keeping track of whether your parents are still providing more than half your support (including tuition, housing, etc).

Another thing to remember is that whether or not your parents claim you, you'll still need to file your own tax return if you make over the standard deduction (around $14,500 for 2024). On your tax return, you'll need to check the box that says "Someone can claim you as a dependent." This is important because it affects which tax breaks you can claim yourself, like education credits. When your parents claim you, they get the education credits, not you.

This is such a common source of confusion! I went through the exact same panic with my parents when I was working through college. Here's the bottom line that helped me understand it: Your dad is mixing up two completely different tax concepts. There is NO income limit for qualifying child dependents who are full-time students under 24. You could make $20k, $30k, or even more and your parents can still claim you as long as they provide more than half your support. The $14,500 figure he's thinking of is just the standard deduction threshold - meaning YOU won't owe federal income tax until you earn above that amount. But this has zero impact on whether your parents can claim you. Since your parents are paying $18k for tuition alone, they're almost certainly providing more than half your total support even with your $13,200 in earnings. Go ahead and pick up those holiday shifts! Your parents will still be able to claim you, and you won't owe any federal taxes on your earnings either. The key tests for your parents to claim you are: 1) You're under 24 and a full-time student ✓, 2) You live with them more than half the year (dorms count as temporary absence) ✓, and 3) They provide more than half your support ✓. Income doesn't factor into it at all for student dependents.

Your dad is definitely mixing up the rules! As a full-time student under 24, there's absolutely no income limit that would prevent your parents from claiming you as a dependent. You could make $50,000 and they could still claim you if they meet the support test. The confusion likely comes from the fact that there ARE income limits for "qualifying relative" dependents ($4,300 for 2024), but as a student you're a "qualifying child" dependent, which has completely different rules. Here's what actually matters for your situation: 1. Age: You're under 24 and a full-time student ✓ 2. Residency: You live with your parents more than half the year (college dorms/apartments count as temporary absence) ✓ 3. Support: Your parents provide more than half your total support For the support test, you need to add up ALL expenses for the year - tuition, room & board, medical, clothing, transportation, etc. If your parents are covering tuition and you're living at home or they're paying for housing, they're likely providing way more than 50% of your total support even with your job income. The $14,500 figure your dad mentioned is just the standard deduction threshold - that's when YOU would start owing federal income tax, but it has zero impact on dependency status. Go ahead and take those holiday shifts! Your earning more money won't affect your parents' ability to claim you at all.

I see a lot of great advice here already, but I wanted to add one more practical tip that helped me when I was in college dealing with the same confusion! The IRS actually has a really helpful Interactive Tax Assistant tool on their website specifically for dependency questions. You can search for "ITA dependency" on irs.gov and it walks you through a series of questions about your specific situation to determine if you can be claimed as a dependent. It's free, official, and takes about 5 minutes to complete. When I used it during my sophomore year (I was making about $15k from my campus job), it clearly confirmed that my parents could still claim me despite my income because I was a full-time student under 24. What's nice is you can show your dad the results directly from the IRS website, which might give him more confidence than forum posts (even though everyone here is absolutely correct!). Sometimes parents just need to see it straight from the official source to stop worrying. The tool also explains the support calculation really clearly, so you can both understand exactly what counts toward the 50% support test. Definitely worth checking out before you have any more stressful conversations about your work hours!

I went through this exact same worry with my parents two years ago! The key thing that finally convinced my dad was when I showed him Publication 501 directly from the IRS website - it's called "Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information." Section 3 specifically explains that for qualifying child dependents (which includes full-time students under 24), there is NO gross income test. That income limit your dad is thinking about only applies to qualifying relative dependents, not qualifying child dependents like you. What really helped my family was creating a simple support worksheet. We listed everything: tuition, books, housing, food, medical, car expenses, personal items, etc. Then marked who paid for what. Even though I was making about $16k that year, my parents were still covering roughly 70% of my total support. The bottom line: as long as you're under 24, enrolled full-time in school, and your parents provide more than half your support, they can claim you regardless of how much you earn. Your $13,200 income has zero impact on their ability to claim you as a dependent. Go get those holiday shifts!

I'm a tax professional and I see this confusion constantly with college students and their parents! Your dad is absolutely mixing up different tax rules, which is super common. Here's the simple truth: As a full-time student under 24, there is NO income limit that would prevent your parents from claiming you as a dependent. You could make $25,000, $35,000, or even more - it doesn't matter for dependency purposes. The only things that matter for your parents to claim you are: 1. You're under 24 and a full-time student ✓ 2. You live with them more than half the year (dorms count as temporary absence) ✓ 3. They provide more than half your total support That $4,300 limit you found online applies to "qualifying relative" dependents (like elderly parents), not "qualifying child" dependents like you. The $14,500 is just when YOU start owing federal income tax - it has zero impact on whether your parents can claim you. Given that your parents are paying $18,000 for tuition alone, they're almost certainly providing way more than 50% of your total support even with your job income. Go ahead and pick up those holiday shifts without worry! Your earning more money won't change your dependency status at all. Show your dad IRS Publication 501 - it clearly explains that qualifying child dependents have no gross income test. That should put his mind at ease!

I'm a college financial aid advisor and I deal with these dependency questions all the time! Your dad is definitely confusing two separate tax concepts, which honestly happens to most parents. The key thing to understand is that for full-time students under 24, there's absolutely NO income limit for being claimed as a dependent. The IRS treats student dependents completely differently than other types of dependents. What your dad might be remembering is either: 1. The $4,300 limit for "qualifying relative" dependents (which doesn't apply to you) 2. The standard deduction threshold where you'd start owing taxes yourself (which has nothing to do with dependency status) Since you mentioned your parents are paying $18,000 for tuition, they're almost certainly meeting the "more than 50% support" test even with your $13,200 in earnings. When you factor in tuition, housing costs, medical expenses, insurance, food when you're home, etc., that $18K alone probably covers more than half your total annual expenses. I always tell students in your situation to go ahead and work as much as you want - earning more money won't disqualify you from being claimed as a dependent. In fact, having some earned income is great for building your work history and financial independence skills! Show your dad IRS Publication 501, Table 5 specifically - it clearly shows that qualifying child dependents (students under 24) have "No limit" for the gross income test. That should clear up his confusion immediately!

I'm a parent who went through this exact same panic last year with my daughter! She was making about $15,000 from her work-study job and weekend shifts, and I was absolutely convinced we were going to lose the dependency exemption and get hit with a massive tax bill. After doing way too much research (and losing sleep over it), I learned that I was completely wrong about the income limits. As a full-time student under 24, there's literally no income cap that would prevent you from being claimed as a dependent - the rules for student dependents are totally different from other types. The support test is really the only thing that matters, and with your parents paying $18K for tuition alone, they're almost certainly covering more than 50% of your total support. We did the math for my daughter and even though she was earning $15K, we were still providing about 68% of her total support when you factor in tuition, housing, food, medical, car expenses, etc. What really helped convince me was the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool - it walked us through the exact questions and confirmed that income doesn't matter for student dependents. Also, don't forget that even if you earn above the standard deduction threshold, you'd just file your own return and check the box saying someone can claim you as a dependent. Your dad's heart is in the right place worrying about the family's tax situation, but he can relax! Go get those holiday shifts - your earning more money actually helps the family overall since you can cover more of your own expenses. Just make sure you keep good records of who pays for what in case you ever need to calculate the support percentage.

I completely understand the confusion and stress you're both feeling! As someone who went through this exact same situation during college, I can confirm that your dad is mixing up different tax rules, which happens to SO many families. The bottom line is this: as a full-time student under 24, there is absolutely NO income limit that would prevent your parents from claiming you as a dependent. You could make $20K, $30K, or even more - it doesn't matter at all for dependency purposes. Your dad is likely thinking of either the $4,300 limit that applies to "qualifying relative" dependents (like elderly parents) or the standard deduction threshold where you'd start owing income tax yourself. Neither of these affects whether your parents can claim you as a qualifying child dependent. The only test that matters is whether your parents provide more than 50% of your total support. With them paying $18,000 for tuition alone, plus presumably covering things like your health insurance, phone bill, car insurance, and housing when you're home, they're almost certainly providing way more than half your support even with your $13,200 in earnings. I'd recommend checking out the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool (search "ITA dependency" on irs.gov) - it's free and will give you an official answer in about 5 minutes that you can show your dad. Also look up IRS Publication 501, Table 5, which clearly shows "No limit" for the income test for qualifying child dependents. Go ahead and pick up those holiday shifts without worry! Your parents will still be able to claim you, and you won't mess up anyone's tax situation. In fact, earning more money helps reduce the financial burden on your family while building your work experience. Win-win!

I just went through this exact same situation with my parents last month! Your dad is definitely mixing up the tax rules - as a full-time student under 24, there's absolutely NO income limit that would disqualify you from being claimed as a dependent. The confusion usually comes from people seeing the $4,300 limit that applies to "qualifying relative" dependents (like elderly parents or non-student relatives), but that doesn't apply to you as a student. You're classified as a "qualifying child" dependent, which has completely different rules. What actually matters for your parents to claim you: 1. You're under 24 and a full-time student ✓ 2. You live with them more than half the year (dorms count as temporary absence) ✓ 3. They provide more than half your total support With your parents paying $18,000 for tuition alone, they're almost certainly providing more than 50% of your total support even with your $13,200 in earnings. When you add up tuition, housing, food, medical expenses, insurance, etc., that tuition payment probably covers the majority right there. The $14,500 figure your dad mentioned is just the standard deduction threshold - that's when YOU would start owing federal income tax on your earnings, but it has zero impact on whether your parents can claim you as a dependent. I'd recommend showing your dad IRS Publication 501, specifically Table 5, which clearly shows "No limit" for the gross income test for qualifying child dependents. That official documentation from the IRS should put his mind at ease immediately. Go ahead and pick up those holiday shifts guilt-free! Your earning more money won't affect your dependency status at all, and it'll actually help reduce the financial burden on your family while giving you valuable work experience.