Definition of "Living With"

[McLovin1981]

My parents own a house and a condo, and they live in the house all year while I live in the condo all year rent-free. They have never lived in the condo. I lived at multiple other addresses between living with my parents and living in the condo. There is no time of the year during which we stay at the same address. They claim this qualifies as me "living with" them for tax purposes, I disagree. Due to employment and income, this is the sole point that determines if I am a dependent or not, so does anyone know if I am considered "living with" them? In reference to 2018 filing.

[DoninGA]

It depends.

How old are you?  Are you a full time student?  Was your gross income in 2019 $4,200 or more?

[McLovin1981]

22 years old, full-time student, gross income greater than $4200. I have filled out IRS checks to determine dependency and the sole point of contention is whether I am considered "living with" my parents.

[McLovin1981]

I should add that this is all in reference to 2018 filing. *Added to original post

[DoninGA]

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@McLovin1981 wrote:

22 years old, full-time student, gross income greater than $4200. I have filled out IRS checks to determine dependency and the sole point of contention is whether I am considered "living with" my parents.

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Since you are a full time student under the age of 24 then your income is not relevant in determining if you can be claimed as a dependent.  If you did not provide over one-half of your own support and you are temporarily away from your parent's home for education purposes and your normal place of residence would be the home of your parents, then they can claim you as a dependent.

Go to IRS Publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information page 12 (Residency Test) - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page=12

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.

[McLovin1981]

I am not temporarily away from home for education, I will not be returning. This is known - I have lived away from them for multiple years while not a student. My "normal place of residence" is the condo where I have now lived for 3 years, after having lived in a different house for a full year. I have not been a student since 2018 - I have lived here for over another year as a non-student, this is evidence enough that I am non temporarily away from home.

[McLovin1981]

Please do not make assumptions about my scenario - I am not asking if I am a dependent, I am asking if I am "living with" my parents, since it is relevant to my dependency. If I live in this condo permanently, and me and my parents have always known that I will not be returning to their house, am I considered "living with" them?

The question in its simplest form: If I permanently live rent-free at an address owned by someone else, and that someone else has never lived there and has no intention of ever living there, am I considered "living with" that person? 

[DoninGA]

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@McLovin1981 wrote:

I am not temporarily away from home for education, I will not be returning. This is known - I have lived away from them for multiple years while not a student. My "normal place of residence" is the condo where I have now lived for 3 years, after having lived in a different house for a full year. I have not been a student since 2018 - I have lived here for over another year as a non-student, this is evidence enough that I am non temporarily away from home.

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You originally said that you were a full time student.  If you were not a full time student in 2019 and had gross income of $4,200 or more in 2019 then no one can claim you as a dependent.

[McLovin1981]

Again, the year in question is 2018

[DoninGA]

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@McLovin1981 wrote:

Again, the year in question is 2018

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If your normal place of residence in 2018 was not the home of your parents then they could not claim you as a dependent in 2018.

[macuser_22 · Accepted solution]

Re: Definition of "Living With"

That term is not to be found in the tax law which says "who has the same principal place of abode as the taxpayer for more than one-half of such taxable year".

Since "abode" is not defined in the tax law then the common dictionary meaning is used, with is: "the place where one lives".     Meaning, for the Qualifying Child dependent, both the parent and child must have lived at the same place for at least half the tax year.  However, if the child was away for the purpose of attending school  (regardless of where the child resided while attending school) it counts as time living with the parent.

[Hal_Al]

Simple answer: No.  Living in your parent's 2nd home, even  rent free, does not count as living with them. for purposes of the Qualifying Child dependent test.

But taxes aren't always simple. You say "I am not temporarily away from home for education, I will not be returning".  That too would make you not living with them.  But you don't say where the condo is located in relation to where  the  school, you attended,  is,  and to your parent's primary home.   If the condo is significantly closer to the  school then your parent's home, it could be considered a temporary absence, for the purposes of attending school, no matter how little time  (including none) you spent at your parent's primary residence.  You really haven't "moved out" of your parent's home, in the traditional sense.