Skip to main content
June 7, 2020
Question

I graduated high school in May 2019. I didn’t go to college so can I click yes for being a full time student in 2019?

  • June 7, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views
No text available

1 reply

Hal_Al
Employee
June 7, 2020

Yes. January to any day in May counts as being a full time student (FTS), for 5 months,  for 2019.  The FTS/5 month rule means your parent(s) can probably claim you as a dependent for 2019.  There is no benefit for you, on your tax return, for being classified as a full time student.

 

With the tax law change, effective 2018, most dependents will get the same refund whether they claim themselves or not. The personal exemption has been eliminated and the standard deduction increased.

 

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit.

A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

  1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
  2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.
  3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. What matters is how much he spent on support. Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on him self.

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

 

Furthermore, there is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim him as a dependent, he is not allowed to claim himself. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $12,200), he can & should still file taxes. In TurboTax (TT), he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.  TT will check that box on form 1040.

Even if he had less, he is allowed to file if he needs to get back income tax withholding. He cannot get back social security or Medicare tax withholding.

 

With the tax law change, effective 2018, most students will get the same refund whether they claim themselves or not. The personal exemption has been eliminated and the standard deduction increased.