Hello, I am a full time college student. For the quesiton "I paid for more than half of my living expenses with earned income." does this living expense include tuition?

[sunnyzhu]

If a college student's tuition is $6k and living expense is $2k, then he/she must make more than $4k per year in order to be able to answer "Yes, I paid for more than half of my living expense with earned income"?

[Vanessa A]

How old are you?  Education does count as part of the expenses for support.  So does clothing, medical, food, shelter, utilities, travel, recreation, etc. 

If you are trying to claim the AOTC, the IRS may question you if you are saying that you provide over half of your own support and you only earned $4,000. 

Dependent Support Worksheet

[xmasbaby0]

If your living expenses  for 2023 were only $2K you are a living miracle.   If you are under the age of 24 and were a full-time college student you can be claimed as a dependent on a parent (or guardians) income tax return.  The person who claims you can say they paid for over half your support---support includes a roof over your head, food, clothing, medical/dental/vision care, transportation, phone bills, gas, heat, electricity, etc.etc.etc.  

Are you trying to determine if someone else can claim you as a dependent so you know how to answer the question about that in My Info?   

Here is the criteria a parent can use to determine if you can be claimed as a qualified child or qualified relative.

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2023 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• 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).
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• 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 lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,700 in 2023.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

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.

Related Information:

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

If you can be claimed as a dependent and you answer the question in My Info incorrectly, here is what happens if you e-file first:  Your Social Security number goes into the IRS system as having been used.  When your parents try to e-file, their e-file is rejected and they will find it impossible to e-file their own tax return.  Then they will have to print, sign and mail their return and wait for months for it to be processed.  You, meanwhile, will have to file an amended tax return on a special form called a 1040X, which also takes months for the IRS to process.  So make sure you know the correct answer to "Can anyone claim you as a dependent on their tax return?"

[Hal_Al]

Q.  For the question "I paid for more than half of my living expenses with earned income." does this living expense include tuition?

A. Yes, unless the tuition was paid by scholarships.  Scholarships are ignored in the support calculation. 

Reference: https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/college-education/discussion/re-calculating-support-with-scholarsh...

Q. If a college student's tuition is $6k and living expense is $2k, then he/she must make more than $4k per year in order to be able to answer "Yes, I paid for more than half of my living expense with earned income"?

A. Yes. But, as others have said, $2K is not reasonable. Specifically, the support value of the home, provided by the parent (or whoever), is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.