I am trying to determine if my sons qualify as dependents. Also do federal, student loans in the name of the student count towards him/her providing their own support? My sons are twin, 19-year-old boys. Let me explain.
Son#1-19 years old, full-time college student, lives on campus. He received about 49% of his aid in federal student loans and 51% of his aid in scholarships. These funds paid for his tuition, room and board, and meal plan. Where I am getting confused is that apparently scholarships and grants do not count towards the student providing their own support. But what about loans? He has federal student loans in his name. I gave him approximately $800 in 2018 as an allowance and for clothing. We are providing his health insurance; he is on my wife’s health insurance policy. He had a federal work study job on campus, and he worked in a summer camp in 2018. He earned $8400 and he will be filing his federal taxes. Can I file him as a dependent? Are the federal student loans in his name part of the formula for him providing his own support?
Son#2-19 years old, full-time college student during the Spring of 2018, lives on campus. He received about 68% of his aid in federal student loans and 32% of his aid in scholarships. These funds paid for his tuition, room and board, and meal plan. He still owes about $8,800 to the college and it looks like (although it’s not final) I will help him with about 50% of that debt. I gave him approximately $1000 in 2018 as an allowance and for clothing. We are providing his health insurance; he is on my wife’s health insurance policy. He worked during the summer at a camp. In July 2018 he started in an AmeriCorps program in FL. He did not return to college for the Fall of 2018. He lived in an apartment and used his AmeriCorps salary for rent, utilities, and food. He earned about $9334 in 2018 and he will be filing his federal taxes. Can I file him as a dependent? Are the loans in his name part of the formula for him providing his own support?
