topic college kid dependent question in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

college kid dependent question

taxclass1 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:20:10 GMT

My son had intern job, made about $15000 this summer, can we still count him as a dependent?

We are paying his tuition and college expense which about $70000/year.

His school and summer job both in California, we are in New York.

Thank you!

Re: college kid dependent question

xmasbaby0 — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 16:28:36 GMT

You have not mentioned your son's age---and that is very important. If he is a full-time student under the age of 24 then you can claim him as a dependent on your own tax return. He can file his own return to seek a refund of tax federal and state tax withheld but MUST say on his own return that he can be claimed as someone else's dependent. If he will be 24 or older by the end of 2022 then you will not be able to claim him on your 2022 tax return.

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2022 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

They're related to you.
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.

They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

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're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
They made less than $4,400 in 2022.
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. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Re: college kid dependent question

DoninGA — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 16:29:34 GMT

If he is a full time student and under the age of 24 you should be able to claim him as a dependent under the Qualifying Child rules on your tax return as long as he meets all the rules.

To be a Qualifying Child -

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.
4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.
7. The child must be younger than you unless disabled.

Re: college kid dependent question

AnthonyC_CPA — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 16:29:34 GMT

Hello,

Yes you should be able to claim your son as a dependent. The rules are:

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2021 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

They're related to you.
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
- No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply). One of the exceptions is being away at college.
They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Thank you for reaching out to TurboTax,

AnthonyC, CPA

Re: college kid dependent question

taxclass1 — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 16:55:31 GMT

Thank you so much for the detailed and clear answers. I feel that you are an expert on tax, I like to ask you another question if you can help me, I really appreciated!

My son is 21 years old, full-time student, US citizen. His summer paycheck holds Fed tax and California state tax, but not New York state tax. His school also in California. Should he fill for California state tax, New York State tax or Both?

Re: college kid dependent question

Faith C — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 17:11:07 GMT

Technically, your son's tax home is where he has driver license and is registered to vote. Attending college in a state does not make your son a residence of that state. If you will claim him as your dependent, your son should be the primary resident of the state you live. For your case, your son will need to file both state since he may have withholding on his CA tax. He will file as non-resident for CA and full year resident for NY where is his home state return.

Here is other cases that is similar to your son's case for your reference.

Re: college kid dependent question

SuziM — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 18:03:45 GMT

Thanks for your participation in our Ask the Expert event regarding "How does the Child Tax Credit and Dependent Care Credit impact this year's tax return for you?"! We’d love to get your input on the event and your TurboTax experience: Click here to leave a video testimonial.