Can you get the earned income credit for a student 20 years old that was a full time student for half the year and part time student for the other half the year

[RichardG · Accepted solution]

The child must be a full time student.  The IRS defines a full time student as:

To qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months during the calendar year:

1.  A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and regular student body at the school, or

2.  A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in (1), or a state, county, or local government.

The 5 calendar months need not be consecutive.

So your answer depends on how many months during 2016 the child was a full time student.