A dependent child who is a full-time student is still considered to be "living with you" during the periods of the year when they are away at school. By indicating that he was not living with you at least half the year, you relegated his, for tax purposes, from a dependent child to a dependent other relative. Please review the qualifications for dependents, below, and correct any entries that are incorrect.

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiancé, or other member of your household as a dependent on your 2018 taxes as long as they meet either of the following sets of requirements:

Qualifying child

• They are related to you;
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else;
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, U.S. national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse or are filing a joint return only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid;
• They are under the age of 19, or 24 if a full-time student;
• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
• They live with you for more than half the year (temporary absences from your home, while living at school, still count as time living with you); and
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

A new requirement this year is that each qualifying child dependent must have a Social Security Number, issued before the due date of your tax return (including extensions) to be claimed for the Child Tax Credit.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They are related to you or lived with you the entire year as a member of your household.
• They made less than $4,150 in 2018.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

A new requirement this year is that each qualifying relative dependent must have a Social Security Number issued before the due date of your tax return (including extensions) or an ITIN or ATIN issued or applied for before the due date of your tax return (including extensions) to be claimed for the Credit for Other Dependents.

Note: Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, you no longer receive a personal exemption for your dependents. But there are other tax benefits, including the Child Tax Credit and the new Credit for Other Dependents, you may be able to get when you claim a dependent.