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Your son filed a Form 1040 for 2018 since there are no more 1040EZ forms as of 2018 returns and beyond. You do not say how old he is or if he is a full-time student for 2019. Whether you itemize or not has no relevance to whether you claim him as a dependent.
If your son is under the age of 24 and has been a full-time student for 2019 he can most likely be claimed as your qualifiying child dependent, no matter how much he earned himself. Even if he lived away at school, living at school is a "temporary absence" so you can say he lived with you. When/if he files his own tax return he MUST say on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return. The education credits go on YOUR tax return if he is your dependent.
WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?
You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2018 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:
Qualifying child
• They are related to you.
• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
Qualifying relative
• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year.
• They made less than $4,150 in 2018
• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info
When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.
Related Information:
• Does a dependent have to live with me?
• What does "financially support another person" mean?
Below is a link to the 2018 IRS form 1040. Underneath the line where you son entered his name, is the following line:
Your standard deduction: l_l Someone can claim you as a dependent l_l You were born before January 2, 1954 l_l You are blind
In order to claim your son as a dependent, and claim the tuition credit, he must have checked the box
"l_l Someone can claim you as a dependent " on his tax return.
If he failed to do so, he can file an amended return (and do so) and that will allow you do claim him and the tuition credit. You do not need to wait until his amended return is fully processed.
With the tax law change, effective 2018, most students* will get the same refund whether they claim themselves or not. The personal exemption has been eliminated and the standard deduction increased.
*If the student's income consist primarily of wages and/or taxable scholarships.
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