No, it is not "according to TurboTax" nor is it according to tax law either. IRS Publication 17 clearly states:
For a student that, on Dec 31 of the tax year is:
-Under the age of 24 and;
-Enrolled in an accredited institution of higher learning (which can include some vocational schools) and;
-Is enrolled in an undergraduate course of study that will lead to a degree or certification and;
-Is enrolled as a full time student for any one semester that started in the tax year;and;
-The student did not provide more than half of their own support for the tax year (Scholarships, grants, 529 funds, gifts from Aunt Mary, etc. *do not count* for the student providing their own support.)
Then:
The student qualifies to be claimed as a dependent on the parent's tax return. There is no earnings limit on what the student can make. The student can earn a million dollars and still qualify as a dependent on the parent's tax return.
Take special note also, that there is no requirement for the parent's to provide any support. Not one penny. The support requirement is on the student, and only the student. There are only two possible ways the student can provide more than 50% of their own support.
1) The student had a job or was self-employed in the tax year and earned sufficient amount to have provided more than 50% of their own support. (If they got sufficient scholarships, grants, 520 funds then it's perfectly possible for the student to have earned a million dollars, and still not have provided more than half their own support.)
2) The student had qualified student loans on which the student was the *primary* borrower, and a sufficient amount of that borrowed money was distributed to the student in the tax year, to have provided more than half of that student's support.
