Health Insurance Coverage For Children and Young Adults Under 26 (2024)

FAQs

Can I claim my 25 year old son as a dependent for health insurance? ›

The Affordable Care Act requires plans and issuers that offer dependent child coverage to make the coverage available until the adult child reaches the age of 26.

You can stay on your parent's plan until coverage ends December 31, even if you turn 26 mid-year. But be sure to apply for your own Marketplace plan for next year during Open Enrollment (November 1 – January 15 each year).

Since 2010, young adults have been able to stay on their parents' health insurance plan until they turn 26. They can even stay on it if they have a job that offers health insurance, are married, are in school or no longer live with their parents.

After dependent children turn 26 years old, they can qualify for a special enrollment period that allows them to enroll in a health plan until another regular open enrollment period begins.

There is no age limit for how long you can claim adult children or other relatives as dependents, but they must meet other IRS requirements to continue to qualify. Additionally, once they are over 18 and no longer a student, they can only qualify as an "other dependent," not a qualifying child.

Age. Your student must be less than 24 years old on December 31 of that tax year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly).

If you're covered by a parent's job-based plan, your coverage usually ends when you turn 26. But check with the employer or plan. Some states and plans have different rules. If you're on a parent's Marketplace plan, you can remain covered through December 31 of the year you turn 26 (or the age permitted in your state).

Most young adults lose coverage from their parent's health insurance plans soon after they turn 26. This cutoff is because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which only requires health insurance companies to cover a dependent on a parent's plan until they turn 26.

Your kids turning 26 can stay on your Kaiser Permanente Individual and Family plan until the end of the plan year during which they turn 26 instead of the end of the birth month. You and members of your family with pre-existing health problems can be covered.

If you file your taxes independently, you're still allowed to stay on your parent's health insurance plan until age 26 (or the age limit in your state). Your ability to stay on your parents' health insurance is only based on your age and is separate from your tax filing status.

What age does your health insurance drop? ›

When Someone Turns 26. Your coverage will end on your 26th birthday. When you lose coverage on your 26th birthday, you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period. This lets you enroll in a health plan outside Open Enrollment.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act permits married or unmarried dependent children to be covered under the health plans to the age of 26. An unmarried dependent child may be covered for health beyond age 26 to age 30, if the criteria established by Florida Statute are satisfied (see following Q & A).

When your child reaches age 26, he or she is no longer eligible to be covered under your health benefits enrollment, unless your child is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability that existed before age 26.

A dependent refers to someone who is eligible to become an additional person on your health insurance plan. Your dependents can receive the benefits of your health insurance plan and use it in much the same way as you.

Beginning in 2023, a new state law allows adult children to add their dependent parent or stepparent to their health plan policy, as long as the dependent parent or stepparent is not eligible for or enrolled in Medicare and they live in the health plan's service area.

There are two dependent requirements where someone can claim an adult child who is 24 or older as a dependent: If your child is permanently and totally disabled. If your child's gross income is less than $4,700 for tax year 2023, and you provided more than half of their total support for the year.

While there are many nuances to tax dependents, you can still claim them even if they earn income or receive SNAP benefits or other government assistance.

In other words, "children" who are over the age of 18 and earn enough money to support themselves may still receive health insurance coverage from their parents. This has no bearing on their tax status. In order to secure this benefit, parents aren't required to claim such children as dependents on their tax returns.