Part-time College Student Dependent???

[LW31]

My son is 20 years old and went to college part time the whole year last year. Can he still count as my dependent? When I click on the more info button in Turbo Tax, it says dependents must be full time students for at least 5 months of the year, but when I answered all the questions in Turbo Tax as it guided me through, even though I said he had attended college part time it said that he qualifies as my dependent. I'm so confused.

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

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. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

The support test is different for each type. The support test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.

Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. The Other dependent (qualifying relative) credit is worth (up to) $500 per dependent and is non-refundable.  That is, it can only be used to reduce an actual tax liability.

Your son cannot be a QC because he is older than 18 and not a full time student.  

A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4400 (2022).
3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

[LW31]

Thank you so much! Very informative!