If I was in a technical school for my job in the military for 13 months, Does this count as a full-time student?

[sfaith02]

After basic training, we need to do 13 months of tech school to get our job. We also had to test for a certification once done

[Vanessa A]

No, if this was related to your military service training, this would not count as being a full time student.

In order for you to be considered a full time student, you would have to be at a technical school for something unrelated, that was not part of your military service, then this would count as a full time student.  If you are asking this because you are trying to determine if someone else can claim you as a dependent, then this would qualify you as a dependent for your parents if you are under 24.

If you are asking this for an education credit, In order to claim the credit, your school must be listed as an eligible institution with the Department of Education.  If it is listed, then assuming you  meet the rest of the criteria then you can take it.  If it is not listed, then you cannot take the Lifetime Learning Credit. 

@sfaith02

(Edited 3/7/2022 @ 5:14AM PST)

[Hal_Al]

No.  You were not a student.  You were a soldier, on duty, doing the job you are being paid to do.  Even West Point cadets are not considered students, for tax purposes. 

 So, a person who attended technical school while a member of the military is not eligible for education credits on a tax return, nor is he considerd as being a student for purposes of being a "Qualifying Child" dependent.

However, basic training and advanced individual training, are considered temporary absences from your parents home, for the dependent test.  But, I don't think a 13 month technical course would meet that criteria.  So, for example (and it's a common example), you graduate from high school in May and leave home to join the army. Your basic and AIT training take 3 months.  You still qualify as your parent's dependent because you were a full time student (HS) for parts of 5 months and were still considered as living with them for more than half the year (military training was only a temporary absence). 

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[Rich Bake]

It's a good question

[mikki44]

yes,thanks for the answer

[Bleanbolt]

Original poster was in fact considered a student. The “13 month technical course” he was talking about, is called tech school. Which you go to immediately after you graduate Basic training. And this Tech school is for you to learn your job before you get to your first duty assignment. You mentioned “advanced individual training”, which is essentially the same thing, but “AIT” is army terminology…. So what it seems like is, the SmartA*s isn’t such a SmartA*s… good try though..

[xmasbaby0]

@Bleanbolt A person who attended technical school while a member of the military is not eligible for education credits on a tax return, which was the whole point of asking about student status in an income tax user forum.

[Hal_Al]

 A person who attended technical school while a member of the military is not eligible for education credits on a tax return, nor is he considerd as being a student for purposes of being a "Qualifying Child" dependent.

[Carl]

Military tech school does not qualify one as a student, since the military member is paid a wage to attend said school, and has absolutely no qualified out of pocket expenses incurred for said school.

Also, for those who may be wondering, "AIT" stands for Advanced Individual Training. This is additional training/instruction conducted outside of normal school attendance and is usually geared towards those who may be a bit behind the rest of there class, to help them keep up. During my time, the most common reason for a trainee to be in AIT, is if they missed a few days of class due to illness. Once they've caught up, AIT is over.

[DoninGA]

@Carl In the US Army and in the US Air Force - AIT or Advanced Individual Training is where the service members go to training for an individual skill and takes place after a service member completes Basic Training. 

In the Navy this is called “A” School

In the Marine Corp this is called Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) School

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[Andredevita]

CARL: You are incorrect, all AIT is for after Basic Training, unless you are going through OSUT, which combines the two. Soldiers that are failing AIT get pushed back a couple weeks to be retrained on whatever subject they are having difficulties with. It may have been different if you were a militant during the Vietnam Era. That would make your opinions obsolete since things change as history progresses. Also certain MOS's have accredited courses with certificates that can be utilized outside of the Military. 

[Carl]

Some terminology differs among the services. When I was in the AF, AIT was for Advanced Individualized Training, which I already detailed earlier.
Vietnam era? How old do you think I am? I wasn't even in grade school back then. 🙂

One key thing not clearly defined in any IRS pub I can find, is any firm time limit of what constitutes a "temporary" absence. But it does say in IRS Pub 17 that "military service" can be considered a temporary absence. So I guess I was "temporarily absent" from my parent's house for the first 6 of my 20 years, at which point I got married. 🙂