There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
- He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
- He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are excluded from the support calculation
- He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year
Q. Does IRS accepts a High School Home School as a school, for purposes of the QC (and EIC) full time student rule?
A. No.
Student defined. To qualify as a student, your
child must be, during some part of each of any 5
calendar months of the year:
1. A full-time student at a school that has a
regular teaching staff, course of study, and
a regularly enrolled student body at the
school; or
2. A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in
(1), or by a state,
Full-time student. A full-time student is a
student who is enrolled for the number of hours
or courses the school considers to be full-time
attendance.
School defined. A school can be an elementary school; junior or senior high school;
college; university; or technical, trade, or mechanical school. However, an on-the-job training course, correspondence school, or school
offering courses only through the Internet
doesn’t count as a school.
Vocational high school students. Students who work on “co-op” jobs in private industry as a part of a school's regular course of
classroom and practical training are considered
full-time students.
Reference: Publication 17; pages 28-29
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf
