Claiming a child after they join the military

[Veronica2318]

My son left for military basic training at the end of July 2020 which means he was with me for 7 months of the year.  He turned 19 in November 2020 but was a full-time student for at least 5 months of the year.  Can I still claim him as a dependent?  Does it matter how much he earned from July-December 2020 while in the military?  How will this affect his filing his own taxes/what he gets back?

[DanaB27]

No, there is no income limit when claiming a dependent as a qualifying child.

To be able to claim your son as a qualifying child has to meet these requirements:

• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).  YES
• They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply). YES
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year. ?

Please see this worksheet to determine support to help calculate if he provided more than half of his own support. If he did not provide more than half of his own support then you can claim him as a dependent.

If your son is your dependent then he will have to indicate on his tax return that he can be claimed as a dependent. He won't be able to qualify for certain Credits because of this but the he will still get a Standard Deduction of his earned income plus $350 (up to $12,400) to reduce his taxable income.

[Veronica2318]

He was 18 when he lived with me but turned 19 at the end of the year.  He didn't have a job before joining the military so didn't provide towards his support/living expenses while living with me.  In reference to his filing his own taxes are you advising he would get more if I don't claim him or that my claiming his won't affect his overall amount?  Thank you for your assistance.

[DanaB27]

Yes, claiming your son won't affect his overall amount. Plus if he meets the requirements to be your dependent then he will have to select that he can be claimed, no matter if you decide to actually claim him or not.

It seems as if your son meets all the requirement to be your dependent:

• he was under 24 and a full time student for 5 months,
• lived with you for more than half the year and
• you stated he did not provide more than half of his support in 2020.

[Veronica2318]

Thank you again.  This is a relief as it makes a big difference on my overall amount(s)...I had surgery last year (my 10th overall and 7th in the last 8 years) and money is scarce.

[glcole]

I see a comments saying no income limits but the dependent my client has, did earn 45,000 in just a few months. Would this be too much?

[AmyC]

For the average person,  most parents don't provide more support than that. Have your client go through Whom May I Claim as a Dependent? after reviewing IRS Worksheet for Determining Support.

Additionally, See  Publication 501 - Internal Revenue Service page 10.

@glcole