I was a student but finished classes in May but didn't get my diploma until June, so am I considered a full time student?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
April 20, 2020
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Hal_Al

Employee

Yes. The rule is full time for parts of 5 months. So, Jan.-May is enough.

Why are you asking. The main purpose of that rule is to see if your parents can claim you as a dependent. You do not need to be full time to claim a tuition credit.

Graduation year (Written for the parent's point of view)

If he/she was a student (under 24) for at least 5 months and lived with you for more than half the year, and did not provide more than 1/2 his own support for the whole year, you can still claim him. Be sure he knows you're claiming him, so he doesn't claim himself. He can only be claimed once. But, he can "file taxes" without claiming his own exemption.

The real question is who should be claiming him in this "transition" year to adulthood. You two have to agree on who is going to claim his exemption. Each should do their taxes both ways and see which way the family comes out best. Even then, you have to meet the rules. The rule is that a child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” dependent, regardless of his income, if:

he is a full time student under 24 for at least 5 calendar months of the year (graduating in May usually means you meet the 5 month rule)
he did not provide more than 1/2 his own support (scholarships are considered 3rd party support and not support provided by the student).
lived with the parent (including time away at school) for more than half the year

So, it usually hinges on "Did he provide more than 1/2 his own support in 2019.

The support value of the home you provided is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants. IRS Publication 501 on page 20 has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

tcrow757Author

The reason I was asking is because I'm in a weird position. Last year I turned 19 in January so it's just a little confusing how it would work this year. From my understanding, even though I was living with family last year, I know that I paid for AT LEAST 4 months worth of rent, but after that I can't quite remember because I had finished school and was working full time. I'm just kinda confused as to if I can actually be claimed or not since I am now 20 and I'm not currently living in the household.

Hal_Al

Employee

@tcrow757

You (fairly) clearly met two of the three tests: 1. You were a full time student under 24 and 2. You lived with you parents more that half the year.

So, as usual, it hinges on "Did you provide more than 1/2 your own support in 2019.

The support value of the home the parents provided is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants. IRS Publication 501 on page 20 has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

Bottom line: coordinate with your parents so there isn't a conflict created.