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Hal_Al · ‎September 30, 2022

Q. Is it 18 or 19?

A. Either, with minor differences. In your case, it doesn't matter, the result is the same.

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.

For dependency, 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 (including high school), 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

For the refundable tuition credit,

You don't qualify for a refundable American opportunity credit if 1 (a, b, or c), 2, and 3 below apply to you (same for 2022).

1.	You were:
	a.	Under age 18 at the end of 2021, or
	b.	Age 18 at the end of 2021 and your earned income was less than one-half of your support, or
	c.	Over age 18 and under age 24 at the end of 2021 and a full-time student (defined later) and your earned income was less than one-half of your support (defined later).
2.	At least one of your parents was alive at the end of 2021.
3.	You're not filing a joint return for 2021.

Q. We support them with tuition but they can cover the living expense (lodging and boarding in dorm for fall 2022).

A. That's not enough. The test is support for the whole year. 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

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