Son turned 23 as of the end of December 2020, he was in school more than half time (but not full time) all of 2020 and lives at home since we live less than 15 miles from both his work and college.
For his first 4 years of school, we claimed him as a dependent as it was clear we were still providing over half his support. However as he's worked/earned more we have shifted what he is responsible for and this year I am uncertain. He has never used/received any grants/loans/scholarships so financial aid is not part of the equation.
In 2020 we provided: lodging (and utilities that go with it), health insurance, and an occasional meal (probably no more than 3 a week). Normally lodging and health insurance would be a big portion of his expense but we are a family of 8 with low costs and when I divide it out per person, his portion is in the $200-250 range per month.
He provided: all clothing, over 80% of his food, all car expenses (registration fees, insurance, repairs - and there was some big ones last year, gas), all cell phone expenses. He made just over $40k last year so from that number alone there is no reason he can't support himself.
He also was responsible for 100% of his college expenses (which were about $7,500 last year). He did pay tuition from his 529 plan (he was the recipient on the checks). He could easily have paid the tuition out of pocket but is trying to use up the 529 money rather than trying to figure out how to access it when no longer a student. This is the first year he took money out of the 529 so was not sure how to count that when determining how much of his own support he is providing.
So does 529 money count as his support of himself or do I have to count it as my supporting him? Obviously whoever is deemed providing the 529 money (I didn't fund it either, it was a gift from a now deceased relative when he was a young child), will have the upper hand in providing the most support.
Intellectually, I have a hard time justifying him as a dependent with his income and was planning on declaring him independent but was worried that since he was 23, still a student and living at home that I may unknowingly be triggering an IRS audit or something if I suddenly declare him independent while he is still in school and they don't agree with me.
