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I graduated university in early May of 2021. Due to when I graduated, I am not sure if I count as a full time student. Am I considered full time?

I graduated the first week in May. I was a full time student for that semester, but I don't know if that was enough hours to be considered.
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6 Replies
AamilD
Expert Alumni

I graduated university in early May of 2021. Due to when I graduated, I am not sure if I count as a full time student. Am I considered full time?

Yes, you will qualify as a student if you started the semester in January and graduated in May.

 

Per the IRS, "To qualify as a student, the person must be a full time-student, during some part of each of any five calendar months of the year".

 

If you graduated on May 1st, then the entire month of May counts as one of your five months and if you started in January and graduated in May, this will count as 5 months.

Hal_Al
Level 15

I graduated university in early May of 2021. Due to when I graduated, I am not sure if I count as a full time student. Am I considered full time?

Your follow up question may be: since I was a full time student for 5 months, can my parents still claim me as a dependent?

 

Graduation year (written as if the parent asked the question)

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 2021.

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.

I graduated university in early May of 2021. Due to when I graduated, I am not sure if I count as a full time student. Am I considered full time?

Thanks a lot for the explanation. I am currently studying at university and studying engineering, which I have dreamed of studying for a long time. The site https://assignmentbro.com/us/engineering-assignment-help helps me a lot, where I find useful information in this area.

cwong21
New Member

I graduated university in early May of 2021. Due to when I graduated, I am not sure if I count as a full time student. Am I considered full time?

I did not get a 1098T form from my university for 2021 can I still file my taxes today or wait until I receive one? I graduated in May 2021.

LeonardS
Expert Alumni

I graduated university in early May of 2021. Due to when I graduated, I am not sure if I count as a full time student. Am I considered full time?

Yes, you are a full-time student, if you were under 241/2, and you were a student for at least 5 months of the year.  Graduating in May usually means the 5-month rule was met, so you can be considered a full-time student on your 2021 tax return.

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Hal_Al
Level 15

I graduated university in early May of 2021. Due to when I graduated, I am not sure if I count as a full time student. Am I considered full time?

@cwong21  You should not wait for a 1098-T before you file.

 

The 1098-T is only an informational document. The numbers on it are not required to be entered onto your tax return. However receipt of a 1098-T frequently means you are either eligible for a tuition credit or possibly your student has taxable scholarship income. You claim the tuition credit, or report scholarship income, based on your own financial records, not the 1098-T. 

If you claim the tuition credit, you do need to report that you got one or that you qualify for an exception (the TurboTax interview will handle this).  If you haven't gotten the 1098-T, in the past, from that school, you qualify for an exception.

 

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