My 22 year old son goes to graduate school in a different state and will be paid a stipend for living expenses. Tuition is waived. Can we claim him as a dependent?

[JohnW15 · Accepted solution]

You may be able to ... without knowing you and your son's specific situation, it's hard to say. 

However, please see the TurboTax FAQ "Who can I claim as my dependent?" below for the requirements to claim your son.  In this FAQ, bear in mind that, even if your son doesn't qualify as a "Qualifying child," he might be eligible as a "Qualifying relative."

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/5187060

[Typo551]

I'm still not clear on this.  My son obviously does not live at home, and the stipend is sufficient to cover most of his living expenses.  If I indicate he only lives at home 4-5 months, and that I do not provide more than 1/2 of his support, turbo tax indicates he cannot be claimed as a dependent.  I do provide his healthcare benefits.   Still he is a full time student and my child who does not live with me, but I will provide any other support needed... Does that not make him my dependent?  Just trying to understand how to correctly answer the turbotax questions.

[JohnW15]

When counting the months your son lives with you, you'll include temporary absences for things such as being away at school.  As far as the support question, what you should be being asked in TT is, "Does your son provide more than half of his own support?"  See the difference?  You don't necessarily have to provide over 1/2 his support -- you can just answer than your SON doesn't provide over 1/2 his support -- a lot of his support may come from his stipend, but that wouldn't affect the way that you'd answer the question.

[Typo551]

okay - that is clear... thank you! He does not provide over 1/2 of his support, and though his lives at grad school majority of the year, I would count those months as living with me, in answering TT question.

[JohnW15]

Exactly!

[Typo551]

Where would he report that portion of the scholarship/stipend not used for qualified education expenses? What would his tax rate be if that’s his only income and I claim him as my dependent?