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. 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 2016.
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. IRS Publication 501 on page 20 has a
worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
