Can you claim dependent if they have to file own taxes due to income > $13,000?

Not sure what you mean by "not consistently a full-time college student"   --- please explain more.    Was she age 19 at the end of 2021?   Was she a full-time student for at least five months?

 

 

In order to claim the student as a dependent the student had to be a full-time student for at least five months of the tax year  (even if the five months was part of August to the end of the year).   If your dependent was a full-time student then it does not matter how much the student earned----they can earn more than the standard deduction amount and still be claimed as your dependent.   They can file their own tax return and seek a refund of federal and state tax withheld, but must say on the return that they can be claimed as someone else's dependent.  They will not get back anything that was withheld for Social Security or Medicare--only federal or state tax could be refunded or partly refunded, depending on the amount.

 

 

 

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

 

 

 

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

 

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).
• 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 $4,300 in 2021.
• 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 y

 

It's a little confused. You guys mention it does not matter how much you earned if you are fulltime student.  But looks like the test income (no more than $4300) applies to Qualified Child and Qualified Relative. Could you please help me clarify this?  Thank you for all your help!

For tax year 2022, the amount of income----not including Social Security--- a qualified relative can receive is $4400 in order to be claimed as a dependent.

 

For a qualified child who is a college student under the age of 24, there is not an income maximum that would prevent you from claiming your child.  

 

Please re-read the criteria in this thread.  The criteria for qualified child and qualified relative are different.

@Gavila777 For tax year 2022:

 

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