Dependent college student summer income

[samdeva]

Hi, My son who is 20, full time student in college earned around $11,000 this years during summer internship and on campus job.  Can i still claim him as a dependent since i paid most of his college expenses (over $45,000)?  Should i include his income with us or he needs to file his taxes separately?

[lisah1972-]

Delete my children dependants they were already claimed by someone else

[MinhT · Accepted solution]

You can claim your son as a dependent if you provided more than half of his support in 2016 (which is the case).

You do not add your son's income on your tax return.

He has to file his own tax return and indicate in his return that Someone else is claiming him as a dependent.

[pollonius]

TubroTaxMinhT, how do you reconcile the statement "You can claim your son as a dependent if you provided more than half of his support in 2016" with the claim that the condition is that the student did not provide 50% of his or her own support? Do you know what the relevant IRS publication would be to confirm your response?
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3041074-qualifying-dependent-full-time-student">https://ttlc.intui...>

[MinhT]

The two statements are compatible. If the parents provided more than half of the child support, then the child did not provide 50% of his or her support.
Please see this IRS document:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2016_publink1000170876">https://www.irs.gov/pub...>

[joe858]

ok thanks, want you say half of support what are we talking about, because my granddaughter works part time so she able to buy own cloth, go to college and works part time,  her scholarships been paying for her books and school,  i bought her a car for her own transportation, had to put it in my name for insurance purpose it would have cost double. she pays no rent or utility or food and ect!! anything else, in which i don't  ask anything for that her school is more important at this time! and yes she been living with me for 4 years! i have always claim her but now she is working part time . Any help by you or the agent will help!

[DavidD66]

If she is living with you rent free, you are providing her meals, and you furnish her a car, then she should qualify as your dependent.  The IRS has an online tool you can use if you to be sure: Whom May I Claim as a Dependent?

[onehappywmn1]

Dependents didn't come over from last year on page one for 1040.  They are in the easystep questions.  I need to delete them

[JohnB5677]

If the "dependents" did not show up on the Form 1040 there will be no tax consequence to leaving them in the step by step.  However, if you wish to clear them out you should go to:

1. PERSONAL INFO
2. [Continue]
3. Select the dependent and choose [EDIT]
4. Now select [Delete]
5. and confirm

That will successfully clear that dependent.

[Bunny3]

I have a similar situation except that my child lived with a relative for the full 12 months in another state, can my child be claimed as a dependent by the relative? 

[KrisD15]

That would be difficult  to answer without further information. 

First would be to determine if the student supplied more than half of their own support. Since they didn't even pay rent I would assume no, so they are a dependent. 

Next, whose dependent is the student? 

You say "relative". Could the student be their "Qualifying Child?" "The student must be their son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or a descendent of any of them" to be their qualifying child, so if not, the student would need to be their qualifying relative in which case the student would need to have earned less than 4,300.

For you the time at the relatives could be considered as living at home if the student was only away because he/she was attending school. This would include time not actually in class and even working a job if the intent is to return home when finished with school. Then you would still claim the student as your dependent. 

It's a bit subjective. Below is a link to an IRS interview which might help. 

You can claim a person as your dependent if they meet the requirements of being your “Qualifying Child” or Qualifying Relative”

These terms can seem misleading since a “Qualifying Child” does not need to be your child and a “Qualifying Relative” does not be related to you.

A “Qualifying Child is a person that meet these tests:

• WHO IS THE PERSON? The person must be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or a descendent of any of them.
• HOW OLD IS THE PERSON? The person must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. They must also be younger than you (or either you or your spouse if you’re filing Married Filing Jointly)

There is no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.

• WHERE DOES THE PERSON LIVE? The person must have lived with you for more than half the tax year, but several exceptions apply such as school and military service.
• WHO SUPPORTS THE PERSON? The person cannot have provided more than half of their own support. It doesn’t matter how much they earned.
• HOW WILL THIS PERSON FILE THEIR TAX RETURN (IF THEY HAVE TO FILE ONE)? The person can’t be filing a Married Filing Jointly tax return, although there is an exception to that.

A QUALIFYING RELATIVE IS A PERSON THAT MEETS THESE TESTS:

                This person can’t be a qualifying child to you or anyone else.

                This person must have lived with you OR be a relative of yours.

                This person must have gross income of less than $4,300

                This person must have gotten more than half their support from you.

IRS INTERVIEW

[Hal_Al]

Q.> Can my child be claimed as a dependent by the relative? 

A. > Simple answer yes.  Any close relative that lives with the child can claim him.  A cousin is not a close relative.

But, as the other answer indicated, there's more to it than that.

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("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. 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.

.A child closely related to a taxpayer can be a “Qualifying Child (QC)” dependent, regardless of the child's income, if:

1. 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
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support
3. He lived with the relative (including temporary absences) for more than half the year
4. He is younger than the relative (not applicable for a disabled child)
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child (this essentially means that you have the parent’s permission to claim the child, if the child also lived with the parent more than half the year)
6. If the parents of a child can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent so claims the child, no one else can claim the child as a qualifying child unless that person's adjusted gross income (AGI) is higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child.

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 $4300 (2020).
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

See full dependent rules at: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...

[Bunny3]

Sounds like my child, as a full-time college student, can be claimed by me as a qualifying child. In that case, does my child's W-2 need to be reported in my tax returns? Or, can my child file her own tax returns without a dependent exemption?

[Hal_Al]

Q. Does my child's W-2 need to be reported in my tax returns?

A.  No.

Q.  Can my child file her own tax returns without a dependent exemption?

A. Yes

You do not report his/her income on your return. If it has to be reported, at all, it goes on his own return. If your dependent child is under age 19 (or under 24 if a full time student), he or she must file a tax return for 2020 if he had any of the following:

1.          Total income (wages, salaries, taxable scholarship etc.) of more than $12,400 (2020).
2.          Unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains, unemployment) of more than $1100.
3.          Unearned income over $350 and gross income of more than $1100
4.          Household employee income (e.g. baby sitting, lawn mowing) over $2100 ($12,400 if under age 18)
5.          Other self employment income over $432, including money on a form 1099-NEC

Even if he had less, he is allowed to file if he needs to get back income tax withholding. He cannot get back social security or Medicare tax withholding.

In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.