If my son turned 19 in July 2020 and will be enrolled in college for Spring 2021, can I still claim him?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
October 4, 2020
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xmasbaby0

Employee

Was he a student in 2020? If your son is a full-time student you can claim him as a dependent to age 24. Please review the criteria for claiming a dependent:

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They are related to you.

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

• They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They lived with you the entire year.

• They made less than $4200 (not counting Social Security)

• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

• Does a dependent have to live with me?

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

• Can I claim a newborn baby?

This means if your son has his own income and files a tax return he MUST say on his return that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return. And if he is a dependent on your tax return, the education credits go on YOUR tax return. Dependents cannot get education credits.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Hal_Al

Employee

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.

The support test is different for each type. The support test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.

Since your son will be over 19, at year end, he must have been a full time student for at least 5 months to be a QC. His income must be less than $4200, for him to be a standard dependent ("Qualifying Relative").