Daughter Graduated May 2024, Did not go to College, Lives with Me all year, Can I claim her?

[cfreeman21]

My Daughter Graduated High School May 2024 and did not go to college or get a job in 2024 does she quaility for Full Time Student (Dependent) still this year?

[Vanessa A · Accepted solution]

Yes.  As long as she was a full time student for at least 5 months, she still counts as a student.  So as long as she meets the rest of the criteria, you can still claim her as your dependent for 2024.  Unless she goes back to school or has income of less than $5,200 in 2025, you will not be able to claim her as a dependent in 2025. 

The following criteria must be met to claim someone as a qualifying child:

• Your child (including adopted and foster children), your sibling, or a descendent of any of them.
• Age 18 or younger at the end of the tax year OR under 24 (and younger than you and your spouse) if they are a full-time student
• Lived with you for more than 6 months during the tax year
• They did not provide more than half of their own support (social security does not count)
• They did not file a joint return, unless it was to claim a refund

To claim someone as a Qualifying Relative, they must be:

• Your child ( including step children, adoptive children and foster children) or a descendent of them
• Your sibling (including half siblings) or a child of your sibling or a sibling-in-law
• Your parent or grandparents, including step parents and in laws
• Any other person that lived with you for the entire tax year
• Not a qualifying child of another taxpayer
• Someone that you provided over half of their support for during the tax year
• Has less than $5,050 in income in 2024 (not counting social security) or  $5,200 for 2025

[cfreeman21]

Thanks for the Reply, Follow up question.  If she does not go to college but doesn't make any more or less then $5,500 and still lives with me can I claim her for 2025 (Next Year)?

[KrisD15]

The limit for Tax Year 2025 will increase to $5,200 (this year2024 the limit is 5,050)

So, yes, if gross income is less that $5,200 next year, and the other requirements are met, you can claim her as your Qualifying Relative and dependent.  

Students are students for the Qualifying Child requirements if they attend school at least part of at least 5 months of the tax year. 

 For tax year 2024:

“Qualifying child
To qualify as a dependent, a child must also pass these tests:
• Relationship: Be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-sister or -brother, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or the child of one of these
• Age: Be under age 19 or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled
• Residency: Live with you for more than half the year, with some exceptions
• Support: Get more than half their financial support from you
• Joint return: Not file as married filing jointly unless only to claim a refund of taxes paid or withheld
See the full rules for a qualifying child
Qualifying relative
A qualifying relative must meet general rules for dependents and pass these tests:
• Not a qualifying child: Isn't your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer
• Member of household or relationship: Lives with you all year as a member of your household or is a specific type of relative
• Gross income: Has gross income under $5,050
• Support: Gets more than half their financial support from you"

IRS LINK 

 

[Hal_Al]

 Does she quality for Full Time Student (Dependent) still this year (2024)?

A. Yes, if she was under age 24 on 12/31/24.

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. 

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("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. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit.

The rule is that a child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” dependent, regardless of his income, if:

1. 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)
2. he did not provide more than 1/2 his own support  (scholarships are considered 3rd party support and not support provided by the student). 
3. 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 2024.

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. 

Q.  If she does not go to college but doesn't make any more or less then $5,500 and still lives with me can I claim her for 2025 (Next Year)?

A. Yes, under the qualifying relative rules, which has the $5050 ($5200 in 2025) income limit. 

See full dependent rules at: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...