Q. Am I still considered living with my parents for more than half-a-year?
A. Yes. The time at school is a temporary absence, so you were considered as living with them for that period.
Q. My parents can claim me as a dependent?
A. Yes, probably. See answer below, written as if the parent asked that question.
Q. If this is the case, my parents can claim my tuition, right since they paid.
A. Yes, but not because they paid. The education credit goes with the student's dependency.
Graduation year
If he/she was a student (under 24) for at least 5 months and lived with you for more than half the year, and did not provide more than 1/2 his own support for the whole year, you can still claim him. Be sure he knows you're claiming him, so he doesn't claim himself. He can only be claimed once. But, he can "file taxes" without claiming his own exemption.
The real question is who should be claiming him in this "transition" year to adulthood. You two have to agree on who is going to claim his exemption. Each should do their taxes both ways and see which way the family comes out best. Even then, you have to meet the rules. The rule is that a child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” dependent, regardless of his income, if:
- he is a full time student under 24 for at least 5 calendar months of the year (graduating in May usually means you meet the 5 month rule)
- he did not provide more than 1/2 his own support (scholarships are considered 3rd party support and not support provided by the student).
- lived with the parent (including time away at school) for more than half the year
So, it usually hinges on "Did he provide more than 1/2 his own support in 2020.
The support value of the home you provided is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants. IRS Publication 501 on page 20 has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
2020 has an additional wrinkle: If the student qualifies as a dependent, they don't get the $1800 stimulus/rebate credit.
Under the CARES Act, if you are claimed, or qualify to be claimed, as a dependent on someone else’s 2019 return you did not receive a stimulus check, in 2020. If you qualified as a dependent for 2019, but will not be for 2020, you will most likely get it in 2021, when you file a 2020 tax return.
