[Tax Year 2019] My son joined the military on July 1st. He lived with me until he left. He is making his own money in the army, but he was a student until May 2015. How do I file tax?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
May 31, 2019
4 replies
0 views

He gets military pay, and I was told that I need to have him on my taxes this year, but he would file his own return.

Best answer by Hal_Al

You can, most likely, still claim him.

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

3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as military training*) 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 you provided 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 his own exemption. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $6300), he can & should still file taxes; he just doesn’t get his own $4000 exemption (deduction). In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.

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.

*Even though he moved out before the middle of the year; the time in basic training and even advanced individual training, is still considered as living with you. Until he gets his permanent duty station; his residence is where he lived prior to enlistment.

S

SweetieJean

Employee

How old is he?

B

BobinCT

Employee

Was his home with you through the end of June?

Hal_AlAnswer

Employee

You can, most likely, still claim him.

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

3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as military training*) 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 you provided 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 his own exemption. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $6300), he can & should still file taxes; he just doesn’t get his own $4000 exemption (deduction). In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.

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.

*Even though he moved out before the middle of the year; the time in basic training and even advanced individual training, is still considered as living with you. Until he gets his permanent duty station; his residence is where he lived prior to enlistment.

A

angiebarr123

I am in the same situation. He left for basic on 6/29 and was in training through 12/31/19. So I know I can claim him but SHOULD I? He will get a $4,000 deduction where I would only get a $2,000 deduction for him. He will file regardless but it seems it would be better for him to claim himself?

DaveF1006

If he turned 17 during the year, you would only get a $500 deduction and $2000 for the child tax credit.You can claim him but you are correct in saying that it would be more advantageous of him to file claiming his own dependency.

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J

joleenf123

i am trying to his taxes

H

HelenC12

Do you mean he was a student until May 2019, not 2015?

If he provided more than half of his own support for the year, he is not your dependent.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Here are the other requirements that must be met to be claimed as a dependent.

They're related to you.
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
- No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).