My 21 year old son was in college all of 2017 and made $10,400. Lived at school 8 months. I paid over half of college expenses. Can I claim him?

[salinas4680]

My 21 year old son was in college all of 2017 (lived out of home 8 months, home 4 months) and made $10,400 of income.  I believe I can claim him (i paid for more than half of the college expenses).  I believe he files on his own and indicates he is claimed as a dependent on his taxes.  Is that correct?  Thanks.

[JulieH1 · Accepted solution]

To claim your son, he can be a "Qualifying Child" or a "Qualifying relative."

To be a  "Qualifying Child" he must meet these requirements:

Under the qualifying child rules:

      Your qualifying dependent must live with you for more than half the year. Being away at school meets this requirement.

      The qualifying dependent must be one of these:

     Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if married filing jointly)

      Under age 24 at the end of the tax year and younger than you (or your spouse if married filing jointly)

      Permanently and totally disabled

      The qualifying dependent can’t have provided more than half of his or her own support

If by paying his college expenses, you mean you provided half of his support, then he qualifies as a child dependent  If you mean you just paid half of his college expenses and nothing else, it depends on if he paid more than half of his support.  If he used his $10,400 to pay more than half of his own support, you cannot claim him.  If he used the $10,400 to go on spring break, then you definitely can claim him.

If you claim him, he still needs to file due to his income.  You are correct that he would indicate on his return that someone else can claim him.

[salinas4680]

Thank you!

[JulieH1]

You are welcome.