Hi @angiehill321 and thanks for your questions!
There's a lot to unpack here - let's take it one step at a time.
How will this move affect my US taxes?
For your particular situation, the largest item that jumps out to me is that once you have lived outside the US for more than half of a tax year, you will no longer qualify for the Earned Income Credit. So for 2023 and any future year where you spend more than half the year outside the US you won't be able to receive the EIC. Also, any year where you use Form 2555 to claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion would be a year in which you are not eligible to receive EIC.
Aside from that, not much changes. As a US citizen you have to file taxes on all income earned worldwide. You may be able to take the Foreign Tax Credit or use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to reduce or avoid US taxation on income earned abroad.
My 20-year-old would still be a dependent; she has one more year of school. But would that make her an international student for her last year at Berklee?
This is really a better question for the financial aid office than for a tax advisor - the school may have its own definition of an international student. Although, my non-expert opinion is that since your 20-year-old would still be a US citizen and primarily living in the US, it seems unlikely to me that they would suddenly be considered an international student by virtue of your move.
Do I have a choice to not claim her as a dependent if that becomes necessary for her school, since she could primarily still live in the US?
I would check with the financial aid office on this first, also. Their answer to the above question may make this question moot. Also, since you are still filing US taxes (even though you will be living abroad), the FAFSA process should still work in the same way as it does now.
How will this affect my EITC, and how much would I have to earn to get the full EITC amount possible refunded?
As noted above, if you move outside the US in early 2023, then for 2023 and any future year where you are outside the US for more than half the year, you would not qualify for EIC.
For 2022, there is no provision to use prior year earned income to calculate EIC. It would be based only on your actual earnings during 2022. You can check the tables in the back of IRS Publication 596 to see EIC amounts based on your income. As a head of household (single parent with 1 or 2 dependents) the maximum EIC amount is earned when you have earned income in roughly the $15,000-$20,000 range. But with your earned income being low at this point in the year, every additional dollar you can earn before 12/31 will increase your EIC amount.
I hope this information is helpful! Good luck on the move.
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