I have a question about whether my student will qualify as our dependent for Tax Year 2024 as I'll need to make changes in our withholdings/allowances if he doesn't.
For tax year 2024 he will:
Turn 21.
Live with us all year.
Earn approximately $15,000.
Will NOT provide more than half his own support. We provide housing, utilities, most food, health insurance, other medical/dental, clothing, education, etc.
Attends college part-time 10 months of the year. *
*Here is the part where I question whether or not he can maintain dependent status.
He would be a Qualifying Child if he was a full-time student 5 months of the year (per guidelines below), then can he still be a QC if he attends half-time 10 months of the year? His college considers him full-time at 12 credit hours per semester, but due to the timing of offered courses he requires to finish his degree, he can only take 11 credit hours Spring 2024 and 7 credit hours Fall 2024. (My research indicates that a student can still be claimed the whole year if they attend full-time Jan-May but do not attend school at all the rest of the year.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is, does 11 + 7 hours 10 months of the year equal "full-time" for 5 months of the year in the eyes of the IRS?
Appreciate any insight you can offer!
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
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
He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are excluded from the support calculation
He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year
