student with scholarship claiming Recovery Rebate Credit

[blueskyus0]

My son is a senior in college. His scholarship paid half of his tuition, and I paid half. He used his earned income from internship to pay for rest of living expenses. Can he claim non-dependent status and get the $1400 recovery Rebate Credit in 2021 tax return? He never got any stimulate checks in the past because he could be claimed as dependent by me. 

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

As you surmised, he cannot be your dependent, if he provided more than half his own support.  If he cannot be claimed as a dependent, he may claim the $1400 Recovery Rebate credit (Stimulus). You have to do the support calculation. For that calculation, scholarships and what they pay are ignored. 

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf

He can claim the refundable portion of the American opportunity Credit (AOC), if more than half his support came from his own earned income. Note that for the dependent test, his self support does not have to be from earned income. 

[Bsch4477]

As @Hal_Al  pointed out, whether he does provide half of his own support is key. Note that scholarship does not count when calculating support. 

[MinhT1]

If you son is under 24 and a full-time student, the only way he can file as non-dependent (and get the third stimulus as the Recovery Rebate credit) is if he can provide for more than half of his own support with his income.

You can use this IRS worksheet to find out if your son satisfies this test.